Tragedy, War, and Forgiveness
by USAthroughout
Summary: Years earlier, Aldren witnessed his family killed during a battle between the CPUs and Arfoire, who didn't know of them and mistakenly left the boy for dead. Angered by this, Aldren attempts to battle the CPUs, resulting in near death and arrest. Refusing to cooperate with the goddesses, IF, who empathizes his loneliness, decides to help him recover. OC x IF (and possibly CPUs).
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hyperdimension Neptunia. This is made for entertainment purposes only.**

Inside of what appears to be a private mechanics workshop, a male teenage boy is currently welding hanging pieces of metal together on a hangar as if to make some kind of armor. His attire currently consists of a black T-shirt and jeans and his features include short black hair and brown eyes. On the wall on his left side, a huge section of it is filled with historical records of the activities and accomplishments of the CPUs as well as sighting. These records range from newspapers to magazines and even includes printouts and notecards. His old television set is currently broadcasting Purple Heart's accomplishment in assisting defeating rampaging monsters and how the citizens show their faith and respect towards her, making him scoff out of disgust.

"Heh, if those CPUs were such heroes that we need to put our faith on, why the heck did we become the victims of their war?" The boy spoke to himself.

After forming the shape of each piece, he spent the next few hours cooling it off and putting them together into some kind of armor using his own handmade blueprints.

 _"It looks like people's faith towards the four CPUs remain as strong as ever in all nations."_ The female news reporter continues her report after receiving new information of the other three CPUs' involvement in putting a stop to the monster crisis.

Out of frustration, the boy took out a pistol and shoots the screen, destroying the TV.

"Keep giving people false hopes you fake Goddesses! It won't be too long until you create another victim like me!"

As he continues working, a flashback reveals the boy's transition from a normal life to a life of hate and abuse during his childhood.

* * *

Flashback begins...

 _An evacuation order was given by the CPUs after Arfoire, in her true form, decided to cause chaos in Planeptune in order to lure the CPUs out. A young boy with his parents and an older sister were placed into an underground emergency shelter in the outskirts of the nation, where it is already filled with dozens of people. Against his family's wishes, the boy sneaks out to witness the CPUs fighting against Arfoire, an enemy Goddess who keeps coming back after being repeatedly defeated or even killed. Meanwhile, his family is making sure that everyone is accounted for inside. However, his father notices that his son is missing and realizes that his curious and adventurous nature has led him outside, much to the family's dismay._

 _"That boy is going to get himself killed!" The father yelled out before heading to the entrance._

 _Once he sees his son outside of the shelter, he calls him back while remaining inside. "Aldren! Come back here! You are going to get yourself killed!"_

 _Aldren was unable to hear his father's words due to the noise of the battle as he witnessed Purple Heart blocking Arfoire's Javelin. Black Heart then attempts to attack from behind, but Arfoire notices this and barely avoids it, only for White Heart to knock her down dangerously close to the unseen shelter with her plasma axe, but manages to steady herself before crashing. However, the position she is in caused her to make brief eye contact with the boy. She stared at him for a good few seconds before flying back up for another round._

 _"Aldren, come back inside!" His father's voice finally reaches to him, causing him to turn around._

 _"Son, what the heck are you thinking!? It's unsafe to stay out here! Get back in!"_

 _"But dad, the CPUs are here fighting her! I am pretty sure that we are save as long as they are around!"_

 _"The CPUs maybe on our side, but getting close to their battles makes them dangerous as well! You have to come back! They cannot even see where we are!"_

 _As the boys were arguing, the battle continues as Arfoire in her true form continues to hold her own against the four CPUs at once. Believing that the battle is going nowhere, Purple Heart activates EXE Drive skill, HDD Neptune. Her body transforms into a jet heading for Arfoire and shoots missiles at her, which then disburses into smaller missiles. However, Arfoire's speed helped her dodge most of the missiles, leading one to become astray from the target and heading towards the shelter. Realizing this, Aldren turns back and tries to head back inside._

 _"DAD!"_

 _Before he was able to grab his father's hand, the missile hits the shelter, knocking Aldren back upon impact with the explosion engulfing his father in flames. The explosion then caused the entire shelter to collapse, killing everyone inside and trapping the young boy beneath the debris. However, Arfoire was soon hit by two of the missiles, causing her to crash down on the ground away from the collapsed shelter. As the CPUs attempt the final blow, Arfoire, although weakened, regains her footing and avoids the attack before flying away._

 _"This won't be the end of me!" Arfoire declares before flying away._

 _After Arfoire flies away Black Heart turns to Purple Heart. "What the heck was that!? How could most of your attacks missed when you had her in your sights!?"_

 _"Sorry about that, but at least I was able to hit her in the end, although she did seem to move a lot faster than our last fight with her."_

 _"Just be glad that there weren't any civilians around since we managed to lure her away from Planeptune. Still, Neptune is right with Arfoire being faster. We better take precautions for the next time we face her." White Heart warned._

 _Green Heart nodded. "Agreed, but for now, despite Arfoire's attack, there seems to be no civilian casualties so we should be able relax for the time being. Let's head back to the Basilicom to report the status of their mission."_

 _The CPUs then left the battlefield, not knowing that their battle collapsed the shelter nearby and Aldren, who is stuck underneath the debris with his head bleeding heavily, tries to reach them with his one free arm and calling for help, only to remain unheard due to his injuries preventing him from screaming and his vision becomes blurry as the CPUs leave his sight._

 _"Why..?" Aldren said softly before passing out._

 _A few hours later, Aldren wakes up and finds enough strength to remove the debris he was trapped under. As his head finally clears, he saw the shelter completely destroyed, causing him to become desperate as he tries to find his family._

 _"Mom! Dad! Ani! Where are you!?"_

 _Aldren spent the next hour digging through the debris and found his father's badly burned body underneath some on the concrete._

 _"No no no!"_

 _Aldren turns around and sees a small blood-covered hand sticking out of some of the wood, which he instantly recognizes._

 _"Ani..." Aldren quietly said her name as he clutches the lifeless hand of his older sister._

 _"This has to be a dream, right? This has to be a dream!"_

 _Unable to find the others, tears started coming out of Aldren's eyes as he realizes that he is the only survivor of the accident and starts crying as loud as he can._

 _"WAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! COME BACK! COME BACK PLEASE!" Aldren yelled as he cried._

* * *

Aldren soon finishes his armor, with the only thing missing is the core located within the opening of the chest piece. An older man with brown hair and wearing what appears to be a butler uniform, apparently in his mid-30s, approaches behind him holding a small thin cylindrical container containing what looks like a shiny red diamond.

"Is the core ready?" Aldren asked.

"Yes sir, it is. Are you sure you really want to do this?" The butler asked while reluctantly handing him the container.

"Blake, this is something that has to be done sooner or later. The CPUs never paid the price for what happened in the shelter. There was no justice there for all of the deaths and the bodies I had to bury alone."

"You do know that the CPUs are vital for the survival of Gamindustri, right?"

"If the CPUs existed due to creation instead of birth then I am sure that whoever created them can create another set of CPUs for each nation." Aldren said as he inserted the core into the armor.

"Even if that is possible, there would still be panic as the people are heavily dependent on them for faith. If they are gone, the chaos in Gamindustri will be unimaginable."

"I don't care. Those people don't realize that the CPUs, putting aside all of their powers, origins, and immortality, are barely any different from us as humans. They just think they are always the solution to solving all of our world's problems and yet they could not solve mine. If you are done talking, I am taking this suit out for a test drive." Aldren prepares to get inside of the armored suit.

"Even if you want to punish the CPUs, please promise me one thing."

"What?"

"Please don't kill them. Even if you want to deliver justice, please don't let it be at the cost of Gamindustri. It is our home after all." Blake begged.

After taking a brief moment to think, Aldren turns to Blake. "Fine, I won't kill them. Nonetheless, I will make sure they get what's coming to them."

Aldren puts on the helmet, which also completely covers his face, and then activates the suit and activates the jetpack built within the outer layer of the back of the armor. The color of the core soon fills the lining of the suit and begins to fly. The voice changer in the helmet soon activates and Aldren turns to Blake.

[Blake, open the doors. Its time to test this thing out.]

Blake did as told and the large workshop gates open, allowing him to fly outside. Flying near the sea, Aldren finds himself having fun flying around the area near his large house.

[Being a genius in school is so worth it!]

After having fun for another ten minutes, Aldren gives a voice command to activate the suit's weapons system and out comes two blue-colored energy blades from the wrists of his suit and tested it out on some heavy boulders, which he cuts through effortlessly. The next weapon summoned from his suit is a pistol on his right hand, which apparently fires plasma shots and can use the suit's power core to increase the power of each blast.

[Perfect. Nothing wrong with this suit so far, but I better continue using all of the features to make sure.]

"Aldren, can you hear me?" Blake's voice is heard through the helmet.

[I can hear you. What's up?]

"I thought you should know that the CPUs are currently gathered near Westwind Ravine."

[Where were you able to get this?]

"I merely called the Guild and asked them which quest is taken by the CPUs under the guise that we want to avoid stealing shares by going on a different quest. Now you know where they are, what are you going to do now?"

[Let them be for the time being. I am still testing out this new suit to make sure it is combat ready and having to fight all of them at once is not a good idea at this stage.]

"Very smart of you Aldren. I will then log off, hope you are able to find them next time."

[Don't worry, I will.]

Unbeknownst to Aldren, he is being watched by several bystanders, consisting of three boys and one girl, during his test run. Aldren recognizes them and gives them a wave, which one of the boys reciprocates, eventually revealing that there are his friends. Once he lands home, he heads back inside of the workshop where he places his suit back into the hangar.

"Is the suit not to your liking?" Blake asked.

"Not versatile enough. The suit needs more weapons on the armor itself rather than the weapons that can be summoned by hand. Their should be more than just plasma-based weapons. Maybe we should add flight stabilizers on each hand that can fire repulsor blasts using the power of the chest piece."

"I don't think ripping off from a famous comic book superhero its a good idea."

"You are probably right. The jetpack still has space for weapon's modification. Maybe I can make a couple of weapons there for a good sneak attack."

"Let's just hope is not from the butt, because that's just another rip off from a famous manga series."

"I already said is from the jetpack and, personally, butts are off limits." Both Blake and Aldren share a small laugh.

"I just hope that once you are satisfied, we get to see more of this side of you."

Aldren's smile disappears after hearing that. "I hope so too, Blake."

* * *

At Westwind Ravine...

The four CPUs are currently taking a break after defeating the Metal Guarder mk2 with IF and Compa joining them in their quest.

As they are resting, Neptune suddenly makes a sneeze. "Achoo!"

"Hm? Are you alright, Nep?" Iffy asked.

"I suddenly get the feeling that my role as the main character has been replaced by someone else. Whoever that person may be, I feel chills just thinking about it for some reason. It feels like we just went through a dark subplot."

"Don't worry too much about it. We will see who the main character is eventually since the CPUs are the principal characters in almost all of our fanfiction." Noire told Neptune.

"Let's just hope the main character gets along with us. I would like to have another gaming buddy." Vert makes a small laugh.

"I think it will be interesting to have another character on board with us. I wonder who that person is." Compa remains optimistic.

Blanc nodded. "There might be inspiration for me to make a new story."

"Until we know who the character is, I will still consider myself as the main character no matter how much the writer puts emphasis on the so-called main one!" Neptune declared.

"Give it a rest, Neptune. Anyway, we are done with our quest so let's go back and report it to the Guild." Noire then stands up and heads back and the rest follows.

"Hey, wait for me!" Neptune shouts at as she catches up with them.

* * *

After the next few days...

Aldren's armor has been completed and he later finds himself in West Wind Valley after accepting a quest from the Guild, where he attracted some onlookers due to his armor. He then finds himself confronting an Ancient Dragon and summons his energy blades in response.

[Let's see how well you fair against this armor.]

After five minutes of fighting, the dragon finds itself defeated as its data disappears while Aldren was left with only minor scratches on the suit.

[Orichalcum appears to be very durable, but better add a little more chromium to minimize these scratches. Other than that, testing is successful. It won't be long before I can pay the CPUs a personal visit.]

Aldren then heads back home to make adjustments to the suit. Knowing that taking on all four Goddesses is suicide as they are more than capable of breaking through the armor if struck with enough force, he intends to attack them one by one. Blake, however, is concerned by Aldren's mental state since he was already traumatized by the death of his loved ones, but still supports him, nonetheless, since leaving him alone will make him more dangerous. As for his opinion on the CPUs, Blake remains neutral about them, but knows that they are necessary to keep Gamindustri alive, adding more of his concern about Aldren.

"Blake, do you remember the time I hired you as my butler?" Aldren asked as he tries to fix the scratches.

"Very clearly. You saved my family from foreclosure of our property and we are still very thankful for that."

"Your family lives in Planeptune and supports Purple Heart and yet despite finding out my hatred for the CPUs, you still remain by my side. Why do you still insist on working under me? I know its not the high payroll."

"Its because I don't feel it is right to leave you. After hearing what happened to you and how you are living now, I feel your need to be guided, which is why my family considered adopting you into the family, and yet you remain insistent to stay here just to get revenge. I understand your hate for them, but what exactly will you do once you are satisfied?"

"I don't know, but I can't find peace if there is no justice for what happened. Tell me Blake, what would you have done if your family was killed by a CPU you admire right in front of your eyes? I don't care whether it is on purpose or accident, but how would you feel?"

After a brief moment of silence, Blake answers. "I would probably be in the same position as you. I just hope you know what you are doing Aldren."

"I do too. Just let me know when the CPUs are out on another quest and see whether they are doing it solo or together. I won't stand a chance if I have to fight all four."

"I will, but do be careful." Blake then walks away from the workshop, leaving Aldren a little more uncertain about his plan, but goes through with it, nonetheless.

After a few more days of tests and trials, Blake alerted Aldren that Purple Heart is seen doing an extermination quest on her own in Haneda Forest. With the suit finally complete, Aldren flew away to Haneda Forest.

[Finally, you and I will meet, Purple Heart.]

Aldren said in a deep robotic voice through his helmet.

* * *

In Haneda Forest...

"I guess that's it for the Dragonia. I better search for the Dominance Machine next." As Purple Heart flew to the area where the monster was last seen, she saw that it was already defeated and yet she cannot see anyone nearby.

"I wonder who did this?"

[That would be me.]

Aldren emerged from behind the tree with his energy blades out of his wrists. Purple Heart immediately felt something is wrong, but decides to remain polite in hopes that he does not turn out to be her enemy.

"Um, good job defeating the monster, but who are you?"

[I am the guy you left for dead long ago! Now I am here to get some closure for the others who weren't so lucky!]

Aldren immediately strikes Purple Heart, who blocks it with her Katana. Aldren then summons his plasma pistol and aims it straight at her face, but the CPU flew up before he can even fire.

"Left for dead? I don't even know what you are talking about!"

[You still haven't figured it out after all these years? If you can't figure out the wrong you and the other CPUs have done during that time, then you are not the guardians Gamindustri needs! You girls are nothing more than frauds pretending to uphold what your people most desired in their nation when in reality you uphold only yourselves! You are no better than the humans who developed your nation!]

Aldren continues his attack, while Purple Heart continues to block and dodge them, reluctant to fight back.

"Please listen to me, I don't know what wrong I have done to you, but if you tell me, maybe we can figure something out!" Purple Heart try to reach to Aldren, but to no avail.

[There is no fixing this! Lives were lost because of you!]

Aldren then aims the plasma pistol towards Purple Heart and fires, but the latter was able to avoid it.

[You won't escape me!]

Another sword fight occurs between the two. Purple Heart then realizes that there is no getting through to him without fighting back and decides to strike, knocking Aldren back.

[Looks like things are going to get more interesting.]

"I don't want to fight! Please put down your weapon and let's talk!"

[No! Justice will be served now!]

Aldren makes a charge at her in an attempt to strike her with his blade, but Purple Heart evades and decides to use one of her combo skills.

"Cross Combination!" Purple Heart yelled before hitting Aldren with a barrage of slashes, knocking him hard to the ground.

"Have you had enough yet?"

[Hehehe. I am just getting started!]

Aldren then gets up, but the attack from Purple Heart manages to make several scratches on the outer layer of the armor, but was unable to cause any real damage to him due to the armor's durability.

[Let's see how you like this.]

Aldren summons what appears to be a modified form of an RPG, only that the weapon was capable of holding three rockets instead of one. Aldren fires the RPG, only for Purple Heart to slice them all before making contact. Nonetheless, the distraction allows Aldren to catch her off guard and strikes her in the face with his armored fist, causing Planeptune's CPU to get knocked hard to the ground this time. Luckily, she got up with no visible injuries, although she briefly rubbed the part of her forehead where she was punched.

"Geez, for me to get hurt early on in this story. The writer must really want to make a point."

Purple Heart then sees Aldren flying towards her at high speed, intending to strike her with his blade, but the former manages to block his attack.

"You are not half-bad, but I've had decades worth of fighting experience as a CPU." Purple Heart then knocks Aldren back and proceeds to finish him off.

"Victory Slash!"

Aldren was hit with two strong diagonal slashes, causing significant damage to the armor to the point that the AI (being watched over by Blake) is signaling a Code Red. The brunt of the attack caused Aldren to fall face first. Believing her opponent to be defeated, Purple Heart withdrew her weapon and gets closer to Aldren.

"Listen, I don't know what I've done to cause you to hold a grudge against the CPUs, but please just talk to me. What exactly did you mean that lives were lost and that I left you for dead?"

Purple Heart turns Aldren around only to find him holding what appears to be a grenade launcher he summoned beneath his body.

[Gotcha!]

Aldren fired, only for Purple Heart to dodge it. Anticipating the goddesses' speed, Aldren rigged the round to explode within a few seconds after fired. The CPU was unfortunately within range of the explosion, which releases some kind of red energy wave, knocking her down.

"AH!"

As Purple Heart tries to get up, she suddenly felt much weaker as if her shares have suddenly been reduced.

"Ngh! Why do I feel much weaker all of a sudden?" Purple Heart struggles to hold her katana up.

[That blast contains energy from an anti-crystal that is currently powering the suit. Found quite a bit of them over the years I've been away from home. Get ready for round 2!]

Aldren gets up, revealing that despite the armor showing deep cuts along with a large slash on the chestplate and pieces of the outer layer broken off from both arms and left shoulder, the armor is still functioning due to the chest piece remaining undamaged. Remembering his promise not to kill any of the CPUs, he then proceeds to beat Purple Heart with his fists, striking her on the abdomen and then laying several shots to her head, causing her to collapse. Seeing the fight through the armor's helmet, Blake remains unfazed while watching this from Aldren's home, but fears that there might be retaliation towards his employer for attacking a CPU.

[Guess you are not so tough without shares.]

Aldren gloats over the unconscious goddess and proceeds to drag her.

[You are coming with me. If you truly don't understand then there is something I want you to see.]

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING YOU PIECE OF SHIT!?"

Before he can take Purple Heart far, Aldren was suddenly struck by an axe, destroying the rest of his armor and sending him flying far back into the woods. Getting a brief glimpse of her, the attacker is revealed to be none other than White Heart, who also went to Haneda Forest not long after Neptune and witnessed the Anti-Crystal grenade go off. Due to the suit containing the anti-crystal energy inside, White Heart was not affected by it as Purple Heart was.

[GAH!]

After striking him, White Heart heard his voice then realizes that what she attacked was not a monster, but a human, causing her to go into shock. Unbeknownst to her, the same bystanders that witnessed Aldren's flight test of the suit arrived in the area right before White Heart attacked their friend, having been told by Blake where their friend would be. Believing Aldren to be dead, the group was shocked by Blanc's merciless attack, not knowing it was an accident, and ran back before they were spotted.

"Crap, that was a human!"

Seeing an unconscious Neptune, who had just transformed back to her human form due to lack of shares, White Heart puts aside her surprise and transforms back to Blanc to check on her injured friend.

"Neptune, are you okay?"

"Blanc? I am fine, but all those shares I just gathered have now disappeared! Am I going to be treated badly in this story!?" Neptune screamed.

"Don't worry, I struck him down." Blanc points towards the area where Aldren fell, only to find a trail of blood instead.

"Nepu! Did you try to kill him Blanc!?"

Blanc panicked. "Its a misunderstanding! I thought he was a monster at first because of all that armor!"

"We better hurry to him or he might bleed to death!" Neptune and Blanc then followed the trail of blood.

"Shit! That was unexpected!" Aldren himself was crawling away from the two CPUs and unable to contact Blake due to the helmet being destroyed. Knowing he won't last, he decides to move as far as possible, choosing to die from blood loss than to be captured by the CPUs, only to find a girl wearing a large dark blue jacket standing in his way.

"...I am sorry that...I failed you all...forgive me." Aldren said to himself.

Having lost so much blood, Aldren starts hallucinating, seeing his family as well as the other victims turning their backs on him. Believing himself to be completely alone due to his failure, Aldren gives up completely and passes out, not caring whether he lives or dies. The girl who stopped him, having no idea who he is or what he did earlier, is shocked by the severity of his injuries, but then sees Neptune and Blanc on the way and runs to them in hopes to save him.

* * *

In Aldren's house...

Blake, who heard Aldren's scream, also believed he was dead after failing to reestablish comms and visuals. He remains in grief and apologizes to Aldren over and over for failing to stop his ambition.

"I should have stopped you. Why didn't I?'

Blake then suddenly heard the doorbell rang. When he opens the door, Aldren's four friends were waiting outside with the oldest-looking member on the left, a boy apparently 19 years of age, holding on to the suit's damaged helmet. He handed over the helmet to Blake and started speaking.

"Aldren was right, what White Heart did to him shows that the morals of the CPUs we admired so much were no different than humans. She killed our friend without warning!" The boy struggled to hold back his tears.

"Ed, it seems like Aldren's death did taught us that maybe the world would be better without the CPUs."

"I went to the area where Aldren's tragedy took place. While there were sticks and even some flowers there, the way it is placed shows that the victims never had a proper memorial. It is as if the person who buried them had no experience prior, proving that there was truth to his story." The girl added.

"I see. Well then, come with me. Aldren still has some of his blueprints in his workshop to build these suits. We will pick up where we left off."

"I never truly trusted CPUs in the first place. Our friend's death will be avenged." The boy next to Ed added.

"No doubt that he will, Greg. We are now at war." Blake then lets the group into his house.

However, after Blake closed the door, Arfoire stood on the branch of a tree near the house, smiling sinisterly.

* * *

 **This is my first Neptunia fanfic sneak preview so please try not to be harsh. I know that there is a lot of DC and Marvel references, but that was on purpose as the main influences of the plot are from _Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice_ and _Captain America: Civil War_. I realized that Aldren's relationship with Blake is similar to Batman and Alfred early on, but it will be less so in the future chapters. Don't worry though, despite the civil war plot inspired by the two movies, the main themes of the story is forgiveness and understanding, which will eventually turn to romance. Yeah, a pretty much revenge to romance story. Whether or not I am going to continue this story depends on the readers' response to the concept. However, I won't continue until I finish one of my ongoing fanfics unless I have inspiration for the next chapter. Main pairing will be Aldren x IF, but the CPUs won't be left out of the romance once the misunderstanding between him and them is cleared. After all, he needs someone who can understand him first. More of Aldren's background will be revealed in the second chapter. Think of the armor similar to Batman's in _Batman: Arkham Knight_ mixed with Incursio from _Akame ga KILL!_ The voice from the armor is also influenced by the Arkham Knight's voice before he unmask himself.**


	2. Chapter 2

In a dark blank space...

"It looks like his condition is stable, though he won't be able to speak until at least the bandages come off." A woman's voice was heard in the dark.

"I guess his injuries are payback for what he tried to do to Planeptune's CPU." This time, a man's voice was heard.

"Why are we treating him anyway? Why do we have to respectively treat him after what he did to Purple Heart?" It seems like all of the voices heard have shown a hostile tone.

"At least he will be taken to prison and, hopefully, the authorities will get the answers out of him."

Hearing the voices, a pair of eyes slowly open, revealing that Aldren heard the conversation while he was unconscious. After clearing his head and waking up some more, he realizes that he is in the hospital with a female nurse moving him to a ward. As he tries to move his hands and feet, he notices that his limbs were strapped down and that an oxygen mask is strapped on him.

"Oh, it looks like somebody is awake."

"Mmph! Mmph!" Although Aldren cannot speak, he still makes grunting noises out of dismay of his situation.

The nurse immediately became hostile towards him. "After what you have done, you are lucky that we have to keep you alive. You have a lot of nerve over what you did to Purple Heart. After you heal, your punishment will be determined by trial."

After being placed in the placed in a private ward, the nurse turns away without looking back, leaving him all alone. Remembering his failure of his plan to take down the CPUs one by one, Aldren violently struggles in a vain attempt to break out of his binds, shaking the hospital bed he is strapped one. After a few minutes, remembering the hallucination of his loved ones and the other victims leaving him, he calms down, but at the cost of further mental deterioration. As the weeks pass by, a doctor or nurse would occasionally come and provide basic care as he stayed in the ward, but often insults him for his crime and expressing hope that his stay in prison is long term. The dark and lonely environment, the inability to move his body, and the bullying treatment by his doctors led him to periods of complete mental collapse, not responding to painful treatments or questions and his body showing no sings of movement, almost as if he is dead.

"It looks like he is not in the state to go to court even though his body is now in stable condition. Anyway, he is now checked out and ready to be handed over to the authorities. Hopefully, within a few weeks, he will be well enough to answer some questions in court." The doctor stated to his nurse before he leaves.

Still bind to his bed, Aldren finally gets out of the ward. The bad experience he endure at the hands of the doctors took a toll on him and tears started falling out of his eyes as he remains silent. Noticing this change in behavior and despite her initial hostility of him, the nurse started feeling pity for the boy as he looked he has just been tortured, but carries on, nonetheless. Aldren then starts having flashbacks of his life right after his family's death.

 _"Look, its a CPU hater!"_

 _"This orphanage doesn't need heretics like him!"_

 _"Get away from me! Only those faithful to our Goddess get to play this game!"_

Remembering how the staff and other orphans treated him, Aldren lost almost all hope of having a life in Gamindustri. After reaching the entrance, two Planeptune officers were waiting outside with their police car. Aldren is then taken into the backseat where he is being driven to the Planeptune correctional facility.

* * *

In the Basilicom...

"It looks like the person who has attacked Nep has finally woken up, but I heard he was so mentally out of it due to treatment that he is in no condition to go to court." IF told Histoire.

"I see. For a boy who is able to build something that can help him hold his own against a CPU in HDD is quite impressive. Is there any background on him?"

"The police are looking through it right now. For some reason, his public records are quite obscure. It is as if he spend a part of his life off the grid and came back just recently. They are also having trouble finding files regarding his childhood."

"That shouldn't matter at this moment! What I want to know is why he suddenly attacked me!" Neptune complained.

Nepgear attempts to calm Neptune. "Onee-chan, please calm down. IF said that they are looking into it right now."

"He told me that I left him for dead and that lives were lost and refused to tell me what he meant when I ask him! He then takes most of my shares using the anti-crystal and then beat me until I was unconscious!"

"That is something I am also trying to figure out. I highly doubt that even someone as irresponsible as Neptune would take innocent lives, much less leave someone for dead."

Compa also seemed worried. "But Iffy, when you found him, you told me he doesn't seem as bad as most of the others that Nep Nep has fought. What exactly do you mean?"

"I managed to look at his eyes briefly before he passed out. The look he has shown is of someone who has regrets or despair rather than someone who had a malevolent purpose like Arfoire or Kurome. I kinda doubt that he is actually a bad person despite what he did."

Histoire then put herself into thought briefly after hearing IF. "We can find out more if he is willing to talk, but can't due to his current condition. Until then, we can only rely on what the authorities are investigating."

"Then maybe I can visit him in prison to help break him out of his near-dead state!"

IF sighed. "Nep, don't make it sound like he is nearly dead, although that would be accurate if he was still in the state where I found him. Also, considering that he tried to attack you, what makes you think he will let you even get near him?"

"Don't worry Iffy, I am not going to die since I am the main protagonist after all!"

"Nonetheless, it might be a good idea to see how he is doing. They might even have new information on him when we get there."

"Yes, he might be worth watching over since he was able to built that suit!"

"Nep Jr, are you just visiting him in hopes of finding out more of what he invented?" Neptune questions her younger sister.

Nepgear gets flustered and panics. "Of course not Onee-chan! I don't want to be friends with someone who tried to kill you! I just thought maybe I can get some ideas for a new invention!"

"Uh-huh, sure Nep Jr. Anyway, on to the correctional facility!"

"Just remember to go easy on him. I highly doubt that he will be able to talk by the time you get there." Histoire reminded.

With the matter settle for the moment, Neptune, Nepgear, IF, and Compa left the Basilicom to pay Aldren a visit.

* * *

In the Planeptune correctional facility...

The party manages to find Aldren's cell with Blanc unexpectedly watching over him. The boy is currently laying down on his back with no shirt on due to the chest area where Blanc had hit him being heavily bandaged and cared for by a more sympathetic female nurse, who held his hand the entire time as antibiotics is being administered to the area.

Neptune was the first to call out Lowee's CPU. "Hey Blanc, whacha doing here?"

"I wanted to make sure he was alright, since I was the one who attacked him."

"Hm? Why would you be concerned over someone who wants to destroy CPUs?"

Blanc facepalms over naivety. "If word gets out that I accidentally killed a human, it will be bad press for Lowee. People's faith in me will drop sharply."

Nepgear makes a nervous laugh. "Yeah, that would be bad."

"So how is he doing right now?" IF asked.

"His condition is currently stable, physically, but his mental condition is a problem. If he does not improve, they are going to have to move him to a psychiatric hospital. He is almost like a dead fish in there."

"I know that he tried to attack Nep Nep, but I can't help feeling sorry when I look at him like this." Compa gives a pitiful and worrisome look at Aldren as he lies on his bed motionless.

IF also founds herself worried over the boy. "Me too, Compa. I think something must have happened to him in the past that caused him to blame Nep for his tragedies, but what?"

"Do you think maybe we can go in there and try to talk to him?" Neptune asked Blanc.

"Considering that he tried to attack you and me nearly killing him, I think we are the last people he would want to visit him."

"Well, it doesn't hurt to try. Just look at him, the writer must really wanted to add some drama to this character."

"Let's go asked one of the officers if we can enter." IF then proceeds to find the nearest officer, who happens to be standing at the entrance to the cells.

"Um, excuse me, we would like to enter Cell 42 to see how the boy is doing."

"I am afraid that is impossible at the moment. You have already seen his condition. He currently requires constant care for both his injuries and deteriorating mental health. We don't want to do anything that might disrupt his treatment."

"Sir, I was the one who saved him. Maybe having someone like that might help him, please."

After taking sometime to think about it, the young male officer reluctantly agrees. "Fine, but keep your voices down if you want to speak to him. We don't want to startle him."

"Understood." The officer then opens the door for the party to come in, although Blanc was the most reluctant while Neptune naively steps in despite being a victim of his attack.

The nurse put her finger over her mouth at the group, signaling them to be quiet or speak softly. IF then proceeds to get closer to speak to him.

"...Hey. I know that you are not feeling well at the moment, but I am glad that you are recovering well compared to when I first found you. I was worried that you were going to die, but that is no longer the case. I just came to see how you are doing. I hope that's okay."

When Aldren didn't respond, Compa decides to talk to him next. "Um, hello. I am a friend of the girl who saved you as well as a nurse-in-training who had helped taking care of you. Just so you know, I hated what the nurses and doctors said about you. To insult one of their own patients defeats the whole purpose to why you were brought to the hospital. We were suppose to make you feel better, not put you down like that."

Compa then gently grabs the hand that the nurse had been holding. "I am sorry."

Still not receiving a response, Blanc reluctantly goes next, fearing what Neptune might say will deteriorate his mental condition even further.

"Even though you tried to attack Neptune, I am sorry that I nearly killed you. I thought you were a monster and not a human." Blanc then stands back, much to the shock of Neptune.

"Huh!? That's it!?"

"SHHHHH!" The nurse tells Neptune to quiet down.

"I was the one who attacked him so there was nothing more I can say to make him feel better."

Nepgear decides to stay out of it since she knew that only Neptune might have some sort of an affect on him and that there is no way she can help improve Aldren's current state.

"Fine, then let me give it a try." It is Neptune's turn to try to get him out of his near catatonic-state.

"Um hello. I know that you are hurt because of both me and Blanc over here, but I am here checking up on you to make sure you don't die or something."

"Neptune!" Blanc, IF, and Nepgear silently yelled at the same time.

"Sorry, anyway, since you refused to talk to me during battle, perhaps I can talk to you while you are "sleeping", okay? First of all, you told me that lives were lost because of me and that I left you for dead. I am the Planeptune's CPU, there is no way I would kill innocent people as my shares rely on their faith. It makes me wonder why you would say that I kill the people I am suppose to watch over, but that's not the point. Anyway, even if you do hate me for whatever reason, I still would save you if you were in any danger since it is my job after all. Who knows what you are thinking right now, but I bet as soon as you wake up, what really happened might not be as bad as what your memory is telling you."

"Neptune!" Everyone silently yelled.

Suddenly, Aldren's body jerked after hearing what Neptune said. Planeptune's CPU took it as a sign of accomplishment. "I knew that I can wake him up! Now we can get the answers out of him."

IF shook her head. "Don't make it sound like we are interrogating him."

Aldren turns his body towards Neptune, but rather than feeling weak, his look shows anger, worrying the nurse as well as the other members of the party.

"...Not as bad you say...Really?"

Aldren then struggles to sit up from his bed and snaps. "IF MY MEMORIES WEREN'T AS BAD, I WOULD HAVE NEVER TRIED TO HUNT YOU DOWN IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

His loud shout causes everyone to take one step back. "MY CHILDHOOD WAS RUINED BECAUSE OF YOU AND YOU DARE SAY THAT IS NOT THAT BAD!?"

"Sir, please calm down..." The nurse pleaded.

The terrified Neptune then attempts to apologize. "I am s-sorry! Wrong choice of words!"

"YOU ARE NOT SORRY! IF YOU WERE, YOU WOULD HAVE AT LEAST TURN AROUND TO SEE AN INJURED CHILD CALLING FOR HELP INSTEAD OF BEING IGNORED! TO THINK YOU CPUS ARE WHAT IS NEEDED FOR GAMINDUSTRI TO SURVIVE!"

Aldren suddenly felt a sharp pain on his bandaged chest, causing him lay down, clutching the injured area as the nurse prepares another dose of painkillers.

"I WANT TO HAVE NOTHING MORE TO DO WITH THE CPUS! GET OUT! GET OUUUTTTTT!"

"Sorry!" Nepgear was the first to run out before everyone else.

The nurse remains and gave him another dose of pain killers. Aldren then calms down and lays on his bed while looking up at the ceiling. The officer, who prepared his taser in case Aldren attacks them, closes the cell door out of concern for both him and the party.

"He must really hate the CPUs to snap like that. What did you do?"

"I don't know. He snapped before I can ask." Neptune is still terrified over the experience.

Blanc also finds herself shaking a little. "You must have done something Neptune, otherwise, he wouldn't have been so angry at you."

"Um, do you have anymore background info on him." Nepgear asked the officer.

"We do. They arrived a couple of hours ago. Wait here for a moment." The officer then went back to his desk, opened a file cabinet, and getting a file out before handing it over to Nepgear.

"After reading this, I was like "this kid has lived a pretty tough life. Maybe the information will have what you are looking for."

"Thank you. Do you mind if we borrow this?"

"As long as you return it within a few days."

"Of course!"

Getting what the party needed, they left the correctional facility with Aldren looking at them through the door until they were out of sight.

"Alright, that should be enough painkillers for now. I will come by with your meal after you calm down a bit more."

The nurse was about to leave until Aldren calls out to her. "Nurse, wait!"

The nurse then stops and turns around. "Yes?"

"...Please tell that girl in the blue jacket and that nurse-in-training...thank you and that I am sorry...that I snapped...I didn't know...what got over me."

Realizing that Aldren wasn't a bad person, the nurse smiles and nods. "I will. I hope you don't mind, but let me ask you, why do you hate the CPUs in the first place?"

"...The one earlier...she killed them..." The nurse then proceeds to listen to Aldren's story even though she knew how unbelievable the story might seem to her.

* * *

In an abandoned warehouse outside of Lastation...

Aldren's friends were tipped by Blake that they cannot face the CPUs alone and suggested that they find a group who are also unsatisfied with how the current CPUs run their respective nations. Being told to be weary, Blake watches over them from his employer's house with the cameras located in their bags, accessories, and other areas where they could be hidden. The warehouse is filled with different assortment of weapons and drones being built by the dozens of workers inside. They then bumped into a tall man (about 6'4 in height).

"Are you four the new recruits?"

"Yes, we read that the group is unsatisfied with how the current CPUs are running Gamindustri and that the goal is to create a human-led world. We feel the same." The girls answered.

"What's wrong with how the CPUs are running their nations now?"

Ed took out Aldren's damaged helmet from his backpack and show it to him. "Lowee's CPU killed a dear friend of ours. We do not want someone like that running a nation."

"I see that you understand why this group was formed. Do you mind if I take a look at the helmet?"

Ed nodded and gave the man the helmet, who looks at it with great interest. "Such amazing technology in this helmet alone. Was this part of a suit?"

They all nodded.

"Perhaps to limit casualties, we should change their designs to be drones instead. Did your friend have any blueprints for this suit? I need to read the basic design for this kind of thing."

"Yes, we can bring it to you the next day." The boy next to Ed responded.

"Good. Soon enough, we will have what we need for our goals. Pardon me, I haven't introduced myself. I am Claude, the leader of the Anti-CPU coalition."

Ed then introduces himself and his friends to Claude. "My name is Ed, the boy next to me is Curtis, she is Lexi, and the one next to her is Dalton. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise. I will be looking forward to working with you all."

"Same here." Dalton replied while shaking hands with Claude.

"By the way, Does your plans involve the killing of civilians?" Curtis asked out of worry.

"We tried to leave the civilians out of our ambition since it is only the CPUs we are after. We have a large-scale plan coming up so we are going to issue a public warning on all four nations, which will cause people to evacuate, hopefully. Doing so will weaken people's faith in the CPUs without the need to kill them. For those that do not take the warning seriously, it will be their fault if they get killed."

"Understood. Thank you." With the recruitment a success, the group leaves the warehouse for the blueprints in Aldren's workshop.

Curtis then turns to Ed. "Do you think we did the right thing?"

"I am not sure. All I know is that the CPUs need to face justice for what they have done or might have done in the past. We need for them to face trial the same way humans face trial when we do something wrong. Let's just play along for the time being and see where this goes. Remember, we are doing it for Aldren."

Curtis nods in agreement. "For Aldren."

Like Aldren's friends, Blake remains somewhat suspicious of Claude's motives, but considering their needs for allies, he reluctantly plays along as well, but vows to only aid the group rather than the coalition.

* * *

A day later in the Basilicom...

Noire, Blanc, and Vert later joins the meeting over what has occurred in the Planeptune correctional facility. Having read Aldren's files, everyone that has met him starts to understand his present situation, showing sympathy for the life he was forced to live.

"Missing family at the age of 8, beaten and bullied by other orphans and classmates, public hostility just because of his lack of faith, and his only guardian is the butler he hired. If I had gone through the same, I would probably have doubts towards the CPUs as well." IF closes the file.

Compa was nearly in tears after reading Aldren's background. "Poor boy. I would have given Aldy a hug if I can."

Noire grew curious after reading his background. "So that boy, Aldren, he was the one who attacked Neptune with a suit that is able to hold its own against a CPU during a quest out of anger, believing that she killed his family. Even I would have trouble believing something like that."

"Yes. Our job as CPUs are also to ensure the safety of our citizens. Doing so will cause people to lose faith in us."

"Glad I dodged a bullet with this one. For his mental state to return back to normal just by Neptune making him angry at her, he must really hate you." Blanc then turns to Neptune.

"Geez, I told you that I would never do such a heartless thing!" Neptune protested.

"And to think he is a boy genius in inventing, graduating college at the age of 14, then became famous among the citizens for creating Planeptune's holographic communications through phones and tablets until he suddenly went off the grid a couple of years back until recently. Maybe you didn't kill them directly, but your lack of responsibility may have led him to this tragedy since he is a Planeptune citizen." Noire suggested.

"Nepu!? If I had known that this was going to happen, I would have rescued his family instead! Why would you say I have done something so horrible?"

"Calm down Neptune. I don't believe that you would do such a thing." Histoire assured Neptune.

"However, that doesn't change the fact that after he and his family had gone missing a few days before your battle with Arfoire, he was the only one among them that returned to Planeptune a couple of days after the battle had ended. Perhaps maybe we should investigate the area to find clues of what had happened."

Noire agreed. "Yeah, its probably the only thing we can think of so far since he hates all of us."

"It will be troublesome if word spread of a goddess murdering her own people." Vert added.

Neptune nodded. "Yeah, and if I ever bump into him again, I don't want to be yelled at like that for a second time. Who knows, maybe there might be another party involved."

"Then its settled. Go investigate what happened."

*Knock Knock*

Before Histoire can dismiss everyone, she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Nepgear comes inside of the room, looking like she wants to tell everyone something. She took out a piece of paper from her pocket and unfolds it.

"Um, the nurse from the correctional facility gave me this note, regarding Aldren, who requested that she deliver it to us. It turns out he really isn't a bad person after all."

"And what did he say?" Histoire asked, causing Neptune, IF, Blanc, and Compa to get closer.

"He apologized for snapping all of a sudden and personally wanted to thank IF and Compa for visiting and caring for him despite what had happened and the fact that he hates the CPUs."

Neptune notices that she and Blanc weren't mentioned. "Wait? What about me and Blanc?"

"The nurse put down that he still hates the CPUs so he refuses to acknowledge them. In fact, she had written that he doesn't even hate the people that support the CPUs, just the goddesses themselves since he felt that they were directly responsible for his life taking a wrong turn."

Neptune and Blanc felt disappointed that despite their attempts to make him feel better and reach out to him, Aldren still refuses to cooperate with them.

"He may hate the CPUs, but he doesn't hate me or Compa. While you get on with the investigation, I am going to go visit him." IF prepares to leave.

"Hmm, why are you visiting Aldren again all of a sudden?" Neptune asked.

"Maybe if I was the one who talked to him, we will more likely get our questions answered. Do you want to come to Compa?"

Compa shook her head. "Sorry, but not today, I have to continue my training as a nurse."

"That's fine. We will meet back at the Basilicom once this is over. See ya." With the meeting over, IF took her bike and heads back to the Planeptune correctional facility.

* * *

Back in the abandoned warehouse...

Claude was given Aldren's blueprints and a note by Ed as the rest of the group helps gather the materials to get started.

"This note contains the locations of abandoned or about to be abandoned buildings we can use. Hopefully, that will be enough to scare the people of Gamindustri off of the nations."

"Perfect. We are now ahead of schedule. All that is needed is to built the drones and weapons for the war against the CPUs. We will make history with the first ever warfare between the humans and the CPUs."

Ed has doubts about Claude's plan. "Do you honestly think that a few hundred soldiers can match against each of the nations' armies that number thousands? They are more than willing to stay and fight to defend Gamindustri and their goddesses."

"Don't worry, we came prepared." Claude then opens the warehouse's large gate and inside comes a giant cage with an Ancient Dragon inside, being pulled by a Peterbilt 379 truck.

"Mankind won't be alone in this war." Claude said as he pet the unusually docile dragon.

* * *

 **Not as good as the first chapter, but I needed to have a build up for the coming war between the mankind and the CPUs. This chapter is also meant to reveal more of Aldren's background. As revealed, Aldren only hates those that have wronged him, but doesn't mind people who care or are neutral to him as long as they don't force him to believe, with the exception of the CPUs, which is why he thanked and apologized to IF and Compa. More reasons for his attitude will be revealed in the next chapter. As for why the CPUs have interest in Alden, the goddesses would have barely any interest in the affairs of an individual, but considering that Aldren is able to build a suit that can go up against a CPU in HDD, of course they would be interested. Plus, I am well aware that the humans are hopelessly outmatched against the goddesses and their supporters so I added more to even the playing field. I won't release another chapter until after I release another one for the other two ongoing fanfics. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

After the CPUs were informed by Aldren's nurse about the area where his family went missing, IF decides to visit Aldren by herself due to Compa having nurse training. When she made it to the correctional facility, she was asked to wait in the visitor area as it will take some time to get Aldren up due to the painkillers he had to take. After 30 minutes of waiting, Aldren's voice can be heard outside of the room.

"It's not a CPU that's visiting me, is it? You saw what happened the last time they visited me."

"We remember. If it was a CPU, we wouldn't even think about placing you in the same room." The officer's voice was also heard.

"Alright. Ouch! Careful! I am still not fully healed yet!"

"Sorry. Are the crutches stable?"

"They are fine. Just let me take my time to get to the visitor area."

IF is surprised over Aldren's friendly conversation with the officer despite the incident yesterday. When Aldren opens the door, he is shown to be using crutches to stabilize himself as he cannot stand on his own without the risk of bleeding. He then sees IF and is surprised himself of her sudden visit due to yesterday's events. Without saying anything, he went to the table that IF is sitting on and sits across from her, cautious over her motives.

"Well, this is a surprise. Who would expect that a friend of a CPU would suddenly come to visit me after exploding in front of her friends. Are you here to make fun of my condition?"

"I am IF and no, I am not here to make fun of you, Aldren. I was the one who saved you after all. You were such a mess. You were crawling, leaving a trail of blood, and then you passed out from your injuries. I was immensely surprised when I found out who did it after Nep-ko and Blanc explained the whole situation to me."

Aldren scoffs at IF. "Heh. You shouldn't worry about me as much as what I did to your friend. I wanted to die so there was no reason for you to have saved me."

"Regardless of your situation, there was no way I can leave someone alone in your state. You maybe vengeful, but I can tell you are no psychopath. We found out a bit more about your background from your nurse. There is a connection to what the CPUs did and your family's disappearance, isn't there?"

"You are pretty sharp, I will give you that. Oh well, might as well give the whole story. About a decade ago, I was a young boy living a normal life in Planeptune with my parents and my older sister. We kept hearing reports about the Console War in the news. It was very common in all stations since the CPUs have been fighting for eons. None of us were soldiers as we were a neutral party so we experienced some discrimination for our so-called cowardice, but it was okay since my father was a doctor so we managed to avoid the worst of it."

"I see. So what did you think of the war that went on for eons? Weren't you and your family afraid that you might get caught in the violence?" IF asked.

"We thought we did. When I was a kid, I always question why the CPUs have to fight, but none of us knows. Some of the areas we visited were in chaos recently with roadblocks, vandalism, and civil unrest. Seeing the violence coming closer, my parents recognized the danger of staying so my family moved to the outskirts of the nation while my father continued his services. The last good memory I had with them was during a movie night where we watched a comedy movie and laughed to the point where I spilled milk out of my nose, but that was the last day the four of us were together."

"So what happened during that day?"

Aldren becomes hesitant as memories of his worst day starts coming back, causing him to stay silent. IF, seeing that Aldren is troubled, decides not to go any further.

"You don't have to tell your story now if its too much for you. I think I got the basic idea."

"No, there is more to it. J-Just give me a moment to calm down."

"I don't want you to hurt yourself Aldren. I will just come back another time to hear the rest of it."

"Please, I will feel better once I let it all out. Just listen."

After taking some deep breaths, Aldren calms down and continues his story. "By this time, the CPUs have finally stopped fighting and the Console War ended. Instead, they have been working together for some reason for the past few weeks and we soon started making plans to return to our former home. All of a sudden, an evacuation order was made and all residents of Planeptune were ordered to get out of the nation and find shelter. Even in the outskirts, nobody felt safe so we followed where the crowd is running off to. We looked up and saw that the CPUs have stopped fighting for some reason, then we noticed another being approaching them. Everyone was in a panic and I couldn't figure out what was going on other than the fact that the CPUs started fighting that being instead of each other. We soon found a fallout shelter and decided to take refuge there, but the battle soon reached the area. I used to be a supporter of Purple Heart and was so excited to her that I ran outside to see the CPUs winning until Purple Heart misdirected one of her attacks, which hit the shelter, killing everyone, but me. I was stuck in the debris and despite the destruction and my call for help, the CPUs flew away instead as I passed out. I woke up to see everything destroyed, including my family, begged them to come back, and then vowed revenge for leaving me for dead. That's the main story. Now you know why I hold a grudge towards our so-called Goddesses."

"A battle a decade ago? Wait, can you describe the being the CPUs have been fighting?"

"All I can recognize is her witch-like outfit and seems to have a gothic aura around her."

"That being sounds like Arfoire, a dark CPU! She was a former acquaintance of Histoire until she was corrupted and is now just bent on the destruction of Gamindustri! She must have set this whole thing up!"

Aldren shook his head. "Impossible, she and I had a brief stare down and her face shows that she didn't even know I was there. In fact, when she was dodging Purple Heart's attack, she was moving in a different direction from the shelter when the attack was misdirected towards us. There is no way she could have planned this based on her actions."

Aldren's explanation shoots down IF's theory, only gaining a little new information from his story.

"I am guessing you don't believe me since I shot down your theory."

IF immediately shook her head in denial. "No no, that's not it! I don't believe you are lying, but I have known Neptune for some time and even she would have never made a mistake that would cause civilian casualties. Not only did that occur, but for the CPUs to not see the destruction or a child calling for help, that is not like them. I just can't put all the pieces together."

"I am thankful that you believe that there is some truth, but it doesn't change what they have done. Why did it have to reach to the point of me getting arrested for them to be finally aware?"

"The CPUs are currently heading to that area now that they know something might have occurred there. Hopefully, what they find might answer more of our questions."

* * *

In an area a few miles outside of Planeptune...

The CPUs, along with Nepgear and Uni, finally reached the area using the coordinates given to them by Histoire after the nurse agrees to pass it on to her. The area is filled with mountains and hills surrounding their landing area. For some reason, the CPUs felt a feeling of nostalgia as if they have been here before.

"Hmm, for some reason, this place feels oddly familiar and I rarely visited this area." Purple Heart suddenly starts feeling uncomfortable as she looks around.

"Heh? Onee-chan, you know this place?" Purple Sister asked, but was ignored.

White Heart nodded. "I agree. It feels like we were involved in something big here and yet we don't know."

"I don't have a good feeling about this place. Let's just find what we are looking for and get out of here." Black Heart then begins searching the area.

"We will find no answers if we keep dwelling on the familiarity of this place. Maybe if we do a search, some answers may lie there." Green Heart added before following Black Heart.

Black Sister gets curious over why the CPUs felt discomfort and familiarity over a seemingly empty place. "I have the feeling that the prisoner's tragedy may have started from this area. I better be cautious."

As Purple Sister looks behind some of the displaced boulders, she notices an area filled with sticks that are standing up from the dirt, some of which have flowers placed in front of them.

"Um Onee-chan, you might want to take a look at this."

"Nepgear? What is it?"

Once Purple Heart reaches her sister's location, she is surprised to see the sticks standing up straight and organized with flowers placed on some of them. Both sisters immediately recognize what the sticks are. It didn't take long for Black Sister and the rest of the CPUs to follow.

Purple Heart starts to feel even more discomfort after figuring it out. "This fanfic sure took a dark turn from the usual tone of this franchise."

"This is a grave..." Black Heart said as she started walking around.

"Whoever did this obviously didn't do a very good job. Some of the sticks are falling apart. Glad I didn't allow Rom and Ram to follow me." White Heart commented.

"I wonder if what happened here relate to why Aldren hate CPUs so much." Green Heart replaces one of the broken sticks with a newer one.

"Hey, I found something!" Black Heart shouted as she waved a dusty picture frame.

After all of the CPUs have gathered, Black Heart blew away the dust covering the frame and the slightly discolored picture shows a young boy with who appears to be his older sister and his parents.

"I found this picture within a collection of wreaths surrounding the three graves over there." Black Heart pointed to the three stick graves completely covered with wreaths made of the now dead flowers and leaves.

Purple Heart observed the young boy in the picture. "Hmm, the picture is a little faded, but this young boy has black hair and brown eyes, similar to Aldren. You don't think..."

"The three sticks are graves of Aldren's family." Green Heart explained.

"That's not all. Look over there." White Heart pointed at the front, which are filled with uncollected and rotting debris.

The CPUs then went to investigate and found items that might have belonged to those buried in this grave, including several broken watches, cracked cell phones, ripped clothing, destroyed metallic walls, etc. Seeing that a tragedy did struck here, the CPUs begin to believe that there is some justification to Aldren's anger, but remain unsure how they themselves were involved. White Heart looks up to see a rock formation above her and suddenly figured out what might have happened here.

"Those rocks, I recognized that shape! This is where we fought Arfoire ten years ago!"

"Huh!? It was here!? No way, none of this was here during our battle! We didn't see any civilians or anything that looked like they were there! It was an empty spot when the fight happened!" Purple Heart goes into denial.

Green Heart also remembers the battle. "That would explain why the land is so familiar, but I have to agree with Neptune, there were no signs of civilians during the fight."

"I remember that one of Neptune's attack misdirected and hit...here..." Black Heart then looks deeper and saw that the destroyed walls in the debris pile had burn marks, revealing that something exploded.

"Neptune, there was a fallout shelter here...Your misdirected attack landed in this area..."

Purple Sister becomes frightened. "Onee-chan...did you really kill all of these people?"

Shocked at the truth, Purple Heart could only stare at the site of the destroyed shelter in disbelief and fell onto her knees, ashamed of what she had done.

"No way...these people...I killed them...They weren't there...They weren't there!" Purple Heart again goes into a state of denial as she grabs her head in agony.

"Onee-chan, calm down!" Purple Sister tried to console Purple Heart despite the truth, but her older sister remains horrified over her unintended actions.

The other CPUs, seeing that Aldren's story is true, didn't know what to do and remain silent, but soon started becoming distant from Purple Heart. Suddenly, Black Sister saw a shine through the rubble and begins digging through it, uncovering a small undamaged tablet. She turns it on and sees what appears to be unknown symbols on the screen. When Black Sister touches the screen, the small tablet disappears for a brief moment, but she could still feel the device with her hand. When the tablet becomes visible, she decides to hand it to Purple Sister since Nepgear is good at working with machines.

"Uni-chan?" Purple Sister looked at tablet briefly then turns back her attention to her friend.

"I found this within the debris. Apparently, when I touched one of the symbols, the tablet went invisible for a few seconds. Decipher these symbols on the screen, Nepgear. I've got a feeling that someone else is involved here."

* * *

Back in the Planeptune Correctional Facility...

"I see. The reason you went off the grid was because you were conflicted over your anger over the CPUs and the people's need for them." IF is still listening to Aldren's story with great interest as she put down notes in her cell phone.

"I just don't know what to do during the time. I wanted revenge against the CPUs for their negligence towards me and the survivors, but at the same time, I don't want others to suffer just because I am. Still, how can I leave things like this when you have the same nightmare over and over again when you sleep? It felt like the other victims wanted me to get their revenge. I couldn't take it and I regained my hatred for the CPUs for putting me through all of this. I was convinced that there actions will create more victims like me shall their rule continue and decided to kick them out, the hard way. You already know where that lead to so since I am here."

"Is that everything you know? Are you sure that there were no other witnesses?"

"Not that I know of, considering that everywhere I looked after the attack, there is nothing other than debris and dead bodies all over the place. That's all I saw."

"So how long are you going to be here?"

"I was charged with aggravated assault on their CPU so I will either spend 8 months to about a year in jail along with a 500,000 credit fine. I am also supposed to go to a psychology clinic a couple of times a week during my sentence to see if I have a mental disorder since the officer didn't really believe me when I tried to explain my motives. There are only a few people that believe me and they are not here and my nurse was the only one that shows true kindness, but she left already."

Aldren suddenly felt a sense of rage inside of him and slams the table, startling IF a bit. "I am stuck in prison all alone and now I am wondering if my life is worth living anymore! How long must I live with these nightmares!? How many more times do I have to hear people labeling me as a failure!? I don't know what to do anymore! I can't find the peace I yearned for so long, because of all the voices screaming in my head!"

"Aldren, please calm down! I know you are suffering right now, but I am here and I am listening! You are not alone!" IF tries to comfort Aldren, who then calms down after a moment.

"Tell me IF, what would you have done if you were me?"

"I probably would have been in the same state. I am not saying that your anger isn't understandable, but you need to be more open to others, even the CPUs. I know you hate them, but I suggest that you should at least listen to their side of the story before you take action against them. You know they will never intentionally kill innocent civilians so I beg you to just listen."

"It still hurts to lose almost all of your loved ones IF. The last hand I ever held was from my sister, who is long dead. For me to shoulder their responsibilities as a child with nothing more than my two hands, the hands who yearned for the warmth of another from someone who truly cares. My butler, my friends, they all refused to give me that comfort once they realize that there was blood from the last person I dearly held on to. The hands that I felt from the nurse who took care of me, they were cold. Kind, but in the end, she only cared so she could leave."

Aldren then puts his two ands on the table, tearfully looking at them. "I am cold IF. I am nearly at the end of my ropes here."

A warm hand then grabs one of Aldren's ice cold hands, causing Aldren to look up to see IF showing a genuine smile towards him. "If you say that the hands you felt after the tragedy were cold and uncaring, then let me be the first to warm them up."

"IF..." Aldren was shocked at IF's kind gesture, something that only his butler and his four friends have shown him, but never as close as the the girl sitting right across from him.

"As I said before, the CPUs are currently investigating the area. I promise you that we will find answers, but please just listen to them. That is all I ask."

Aldren took some time to think, but before he can answer, he hears running footsteps heading towards the visitor area. To both IF and Aldren's surprise, it was Neptune back to her human form that came running in with the officer trying to stop her.

"Miss, you can't come in here without officer approval!"

Neptune ignored the officer and looked up at Aldren, who is still surprised at the CPU's sudden appearance. As soon as she spotted the boy, Neptune suddenly started tearing up.

"Aldren! I am sorry! I am sorry for what happened!" Neptune yelled as she cried.

Soon enough, the other CPUs entered to see a regretful and sobbing Neptune crying right in front of him.

IF then stands up and looks at the other CPUs with a worried face. "What happened?"

"Aldren's story has shown some truth. The area was a grave site and the same place we fought Arfoire a decade back. It was also filled with debris of a fallout shelter and one of them has a whole with burn marks on it, in a place where Neptune's attack misdirected and hit instead." Noire explained.

"Noire is telling the truth..." Blanc said in a monotone voice, but her face shows worry and uncertainty.

IF and Aldren then sees a distressed Nepgear being comforted by Uni as Vert looks at Neptune uncomfortably.

IF becomes alarmed after realizing what she was told just now. "Wait, so Nep-ko really did kill his family and the other refugees!?"

"As much as I hate to say it and the fact that it was accidental, the evidence shows that Neptune was the one who destroyed the shelter, killing everyone, but him." Blanc explained.

Seeing Neptune showing regret over her actions and yet the fact that she killed refugees, IF can only remain silent while Aldren seems glad that the truth has been revealed.

Aldren then turns to IF. "So what is going to happen now."

"I...I don't know."

"But I do." The officer then heads towards Neptune.

"I am sorry, I know you didn't mean to do what you did, but justice must be served for the victims and their families who had to go through such horrible losses. We will hear your case during trial."

"I understand." Neptune then turns to Aldren. "I hope that you can find peace with this."

The officer then leads Neptune out of the visitor area for questioning, but not before turning back to Aldren. "Well, since your story has been proven to be true, I will have the case reopened and be taken to court so that we can either minimize or dismiss your charges for assault caused by mental health issues. However, considering that you still technically did an aggravated assault, I don't think you will be allowed to walk out of here without a fine, but that's a much better fate than what she might be sentenced to."

Aldren remains silent as he finally got what he wanted, but for some reason, is unhappy about it after seeing Neptune's remorseful behavior. With Neptune being taken away, IF then turns back to Aldren, who is now showing uncertainty and possibly even regret over the goddesses' arrest.

"Is this what you always wanted?"

"...I don't know."

The CPUs can only watch as Neptune disappears from the area along with the officer, fearing what will happen to her and Planeptune with the CPU behind bars. Unbeknownst to them, they were being watched by two of Claude's spies from a window near the ceiling, who then left to report to him.

* * *

Back in the abandoned warehouse...

Claude is receiving a report from the spies sent out to watch over the CPUs and is surprised to hear Planeptune's CPU getting arrested.

"Seriously? Planeptune's CPU turned herself in? This just gets better and better."

Claude then gets out of his seat in his office and addresses the people currently working in the warehouse, which Aldren's friends are also present. Monsters found throughout Gamindustri are now seen being tamed by their trainers, which is still an unusual site for the four new recruits, who are still not convinced that Claude is trustworthy due to the nature of his plans, but will follow through as long as civilians remain unharmed as promised.

"Listen up, Planeptune's CPU just got arrested for what appears to be manslaughter due to a certain incident a decade ago! Luck is on our side people, because without the CPU taking charge of her own nation, Planeptune will weaken quickly! This will be a good test run for our front line of monsters before we commence our true attack, but first we gotta do something about the civilians living there. We need to show them that their CPU is no longer capable of protecting them! Detonate the bombs surrounding Planeptune!"

One of the workers then uses a computer, monitoring all of the bombs placed in Gamindustri. He then narrows it towards Planeptune and activates the bombs timer, which runs out within seconds.

* * *

Back in Planeptune...

An explosion was heard from the site of an abandoned building, which was witnessed by many. The smoke that came over has risen to the sky to the point where it can be witnessed tens of miles away.

"What was that explosion over there!?"

"Was there a gas leak!?"

As the people try to figure out what was going on, more explosions followed on various areas, including an empty construction site, a closed-down school, and even at the bottom of a lake. People began to panic and scream as the Planeptune soldiers try to respond to the situation.

One of the soldiers, apparently a captain, immediately realized that the explosions were an attack. "This is no accident! I want two groups to help organize an evacuation route for the civilians and the rest follow me!"

"Hai!" The other soldiers responded before splitting apart.

* * *

An hour later in the warehouse...

"Sir, about 90 percent of the civilians have been evacuated to shelters or outside of Planeptune!" The bomb detonator told Claude.

"Good enough, the 10 percent still left should be able to run away by the time the monsters get here." Claude points to another worker. "You there, have the front line released to thin out the nation's defenses."

"Of course!" The worker then orders the release of some of the monsters to Planeptune.

Aldren's four friends can only watch in dismay, knowing that this was Claude's decoy strategy and a highly destructive one at that.

"Claude! What the heck are you doing!?" Ed yelled out of anger.

"Ed, it's time for retribution against the goddesses." Claude said as he watches the monitors.

* * *

 **Inspiration for the third chapter finally came. An attack finally occurs as some kind of decoy strategy before Claude launches his main forces at Gamindustri, taking advantage of Neptune's arrest. Aldren forms a bond with IF and begins questioning himself after seeing Neptune's true remorse over what happened to his life and her attempts to appease him by turning herself in. Sorry it took so long, I was overseas and not everywhere has good internet connection. Anyway, I know the timeline was a little off from the games between on the battle that caused the demise of Aldren's family to his current situation, but its the only way I can fit this part of the plot line in the story. Also, don't worry about Aldren suddenly turning into a goody 2 shoes, he will still retain his anti-hero qualities since he still doesn't trust the CPUs. There are some out of character moments and cliches, but some of that will lessen in future chapters. Hope you enjoy.**


	4. Chapter 4

Seeing Neptune's true remorse over her actions by turning herself in, Aldren could feel some of his hate dissipating after IF questioned his desire for vengeance against the CPU who accidentally killed his family. IF decides to dig deeper, knowing that there is something else within Aldren's mind.

"It looks like you finally got what you wanted, but yet you still look unhappy and uncertain about something. Isn't this what you truly wanted?"

Aldren then sighs out of disappointment. "Seeing Neptune turning herself in, I thought I'd be happier."

"But?" IF pressures Aldren to continue.

"I don't know. Seeing that look on her face when she turned herself in; it didn't feel good. I don't feel satisfied at all."

"It seems like Nep-ko's true nature contradicts the killer you perceived her to be. Even though she was ultimately responsible for what happened to you, it didn't make sense to all of us since we knew her the best."

Aldren nodded. "Yeah, it definitely feels like something is missing, but nonetheless, what is done is done."

Aldren grabs his crutches and prepares to get up, but IF stopped and asks him, "Are you truly okay with this?"

"I need to talk to her." Aldren then limps back towards the cells, assisted by the officer.

"You probably already know this, but we can't let you out quite yet until the investigation of the incident is complete. Even with Neptune's word, there are still a lot of questions that need to be answered and if word gets out the Planeptune's CPU actually committed manslaughter, then its going to be chaos out there. Remain silent about this matter until the case is over, understand?"

Aldren nodded back. "Understood. I would like to make a request to have a word with Neptune if you don't mind."

The officer took a couple of moments to think. "Very well, but for safety reasons, we will have guards present and your conversations will be recorded as well. I don't to risk another assault."

Aldren gave a small laugh. "Fair enough, but after seeing what I just saw, I am not in the mood to get angry."

"One can never be too careful." The officer then escorted Aldren to his cell bed."

"Once Neptune calms down and cooperate with us, I will take you to her."

* * *

In Planeptune...

Most of the population in Neptune's nation were either evacuated or have taken place in shelters as Planeptune's authorities investigate the bombings that have occurred and are currently talking amongst themselves as they look through the debris of each bombing location.

"Found some shrapnel, but whoever the bombers are heavily covered their tracks. Must have used thick gloves while carrying them to avoid leaving fingerprints."

"Whoever did this were definitely acting on their own accord as surveillance footage and samples found at the bombing locations reveal that it was only a small group that was responsible."

"We can probably catch them if we act quick enough. Do you think we can let the civilians return back to Planeptune?"

"Not until we can be sure that the bombing of this scale doesn't happen again. It's going to cost a lot to restore all of what is destroyed."

One of the soldiers picked up an unusually large piece of debris from one of the bombs and scans it.

"There are traces of ammonium nitrate and tannerite on this one. When the two mix together, it definitely packs a punch, especially when it detonates in a gas station."

"Seems like they manage to erase their tracks yet again with the chemicals. The one found in the warehouse contains copper azide, which are highly explosive. They are using explosive chemicals that are found or used exclusively by all four nations of Gamindustri. We will have to look throughout Gamindustri just to find the few perpetrators." Another soldier called out.

"Call the other nations and tell them to look out for anyone suspicious. Have them stop all transportation of all the listed chemicals until further notice."

"Roger that."

As one of the soldiers heads back to the Basilicom to alert the other nations, the other soldier turns around and see several dots flying from far away heading to their location.

"Hey, what do you think is flying all the way over there? A flock of birds?"

One of the investigators turned around and becomes surprise over what he is seeing. "Impossible! At this distance, they would still be within monster territory so birds would usually fly much higher! Someone needs to get a better look at this!"

"I am on it!" Another soldier reached for his binoculars and took a look at the several dots and does not like what he is seeing.

"Monsters! There are monsters heading our way!"

"Monsters!? Are you sure!?" The investigator becomes even more fearful over the news.

"Yes! A horde of them! Get the Planeptune's defenses ready and get every soldier to the front now! Alert our Goddess of the incoming threat now!"

"Yes sir!" The soldiers responded as they scrambled to their positions.

* * *

In Planeptune's Basilicom...

In her room, Nepgear is currently investigating the tablet that Uni found within the debris of what used to be a fallout shelter now turned into a small grave. She places it on a computer and activates the tablet, making it look like the computer suddenly disappeared. However, when Nepgear touches her computer, it was still there, revealing that the device can make anything invisible within certain distance.

"This device creates camouflage. To a normal eye, when this device activates, it cannot be seen, even by CPUs. If that's the case, it would make sense why Onee-chan and the others couldn't see the fallout shelter, even though it was right below them. Could one of the people in the shelter...No, the device can only work on one side, so it must have been outside the shelter. Just who could have done this? Anyway, I need to figure this out quickly so I can get Onee-chan out." Nepgear mutters in her thoughts.

Before Nepgear can go much further, Histoire suddenly bursts into the room. "Nepgear, its an emergency! A horde of monsters is heading right towards Planeptune!"

Nepgear becomes alarmed. "Eh!? What happened!?"

"The bombs that the authorities were investigating, they believe that the explosions may have called the horde over here! Get ready Nepgear, we have to defend our nation!"

"Hai! Call Lastation, Leanbox, and Lowee! If the monster horde is targeting Planeptune, they might target the other nations as well!"

"They've been notified! I will call you if anything happens!" Histoire then left as Nepgear goes HDD and rushes out of the Basilicom,

When Nepgear is finally outside, she sees Planeptune's soldier readying anti aircraft guns specifically designed for flying monsters such as the Ancient Dragon, although the dragon's tough hide is hard to penetrate so they often leave it to the CPU to deal with more powerful monsters. Other soldiers are gathered to protect the guns and are found on rooftops, taking aim with their rifles. While the soldiers act brave, Nepgear could tell that they are afraid due to the large number of monsters. She herself feels overwhelmed both by the monsters and the fact that her sister is in jail, but tries to maintain a strong front as she prepares for battle.

"I won't give up! Until I can get Onee-chan out, I will make sure that Planeptune doesn't fall!" Purple Sister then summons her Gunblade/Sword hybrid and aims at the incoming horde, preparing to use her special M.P.B.L.

* * *

Back in the correctional facility...

Aldren was given permission to have a heavily guarded conversation with Neptune in the interrogation room as IF waits, not knowing what is happening outside due to the soundproof walls. Unable to get permission to join, IF decides to hear everything from Aldren as Neptune is not allowed to be in the visitor area at this time. Aldren comes back to the visitor area after hearing that IF is still waiting, much to his surprise and decides to head back to her table.

"I thought you left."

"It's hard to when your job is to collect information for the Guild." IF smiled.

"Yeah? Even information from a well-guarded conversation inside of a prison?"

IF smile immediately wears off. "Look, I really don't believe that Nep-ko deserves the charges she might be getting, knowing her. I want to take part of the investigation to help her. I know that you probably still don't like her, but if word gets out that Planeptune's CPU is arrested by her own authorities, it will be chaos out there. I just need you to tell me what happened in there."

Aldren remains silent, still deciding whether or not to say. After coming out of the interrogation room, he remains even more unsure than when Neptune turns herself in, especially after hearing that none of the CPUs in battle were aware that the fallout shelter was below them during their battle with Arfoire as if they are saying that the shelter was invisible to them. After realizing that more questions needed to be answered, he reluctantly accepts IF's request.

"Alright, I will tell you."

Aldren then tells her almost everything that Neptune told her, other than the stuff he believes to be nonsensical such as when Neptune referenced that pudding was her favorite food and how Noire has no friends. He never understood how Neptune can still have some positivity in her despite showing tears and regret from when she turned herself in. In fact, Aldren himself is also now finding it hard to believe that Neptune would actually kill people. However, he also admits that he still cannot bring himself forgive her due to how long it took for her to finally repent, even though he knew that the attack was an accident. After another thirty minutes, their conversation comes to an end with IF satisfied with that she has gotten out.

"Thank you Aldren. I hope that once this investigation is complete, not only can we get Nep-ko out, but also help you and the victims find peace from this tragedy."

Before IF stands up to leave, she looks at Aldren one more time and saw that he still has that lonely look in his eyes. Seeing that Aldren is just a troubled and traumatized boy, IF took out a piece of paper and wrote down some numbers in it.

"Here." IF gives Aldren the paper.

"If you ever want someone to talk to, then contact me. I will try to keep in touch until the investigation is complete."

After IF leaves the room, Aldren was escorted back to his cell, where he turned on the TV, only to see monsters on the screen attacking Planeptune after switching to the news channel.

"What the heck!? What is going on outside!?" Aldren yelled in disbelief.

The screen shows anti-aircraft guns and soldiers firing at the monsters, along with Nepgear helping out. The nation is currently a mess as several collapsed rooftops are shown as well as the Basilicom currently being targeted with the anti-aircraft guns just barely keeping them away.

"Why aren't the other nations assisting!?"

[I just received report that Lastation, Lowee, and Leanbox are also under attack by large group of monsters as both the soldiers and the CPU's desperately trying to hold them back!]

As the journalist continues speaking, Lastation is scene under attack as both Black Sister and Black Heart assists their soldiers in holding them back. Lowee and Leanbox are shown to be in the same situation.

[Although the CPUs are managing to hold them back, all available personnel have been instructed to arm themselves to help assist the CPUs in the fight to save Gamindustri!]

Aldren then hears loud footsteps coming closer to his cell and saw that dozens of armed officers, including the one who had just escorted him earlier, rushing outside, leaving only a skeleton crew to care for the inmates. The screen just shows another building collapsing, triggering the memory of the tragedy that took his family away, causing him to clutch his head and screaming in agony.

"DAMMIIIIITTTTTTTTTT!" Aldren yelled at the top of his lungs.

* * *

Back in Planeptune...

A bird-like monster charges towards Purple Sister at high speed, but the CPU Candidate was able to turn around quick enough to land the first strike, causing the monster to de-pixelate.

"This is bad! There is too many of them!"

Purple Sister then hits an Ancient Dragon with an M.P.B.L, which knocks the dragon to the ground, but not quite finished. The dragon then gets up, only to be finished off by anti-aircraft guns. Although the situation is getting desperate for Planeptune, the monsters are finally getting pushed back, but at a great cost as the ground is filled with bodies of slain soldiers and two of their large guns have been destroyed. However, the monsters are far from done as they attempt to brave through the intense gunfire to reach the soldiers.

"I guess I better summon Nepgeardam for this." Purple Sister then summons a giant robotic version of herself with a rectangle-shaped head with the look of a shocked Nepgear (Nepgya) on it.

"What kind of robot is this!?" No matter how many times Purple Sister summons the robot, the ridiculous design always leaves her dismayed.

"Hold on! Let me help too!" A girly voice with a childish tone was suddenly heard.

"That voice! Could it be!?" Nepgear turns around and sees a familiar daydreaming CPU coming from behind her.

"Its been a while Gearsy! When I saw all those meany monsters coming towards Planeptune, I just knew I had to help!" Orange Heart said as she holds her microphone.

"Uzume-san! It really has been a while!" Purple Sister got way too excited that she momentarily forgot that she is still in a battle.

"I know right!? First I was on a quest to kill a giant mean monster that has been terrorizing people taking quests with big Nepsy, then all of a sudden, so many of those meany monsters flew over us and headed towards your nation! They were ignoring us like when we were invisible or something!" Orange Heart continues to childishly complain, causing a sweat drop to form on Purple Sister.

"Calm down Uzume-san, at least you are here now!"

Purple Sister then turns around to see the monsters enduring through Planeptune's defenses, charging towards Nepgeardam.

"From the looks of it, we will need all the help we can get!"

"No problem! Let's attack together and send those meany monsters back!" Orange Heart then aims her megaphone.

Purple Sister nodded. "Yes!"

Purple Sister then had her giant robot sweep through some of the monsters with a series of punches and kicks and launches an energy blasts from the robots eyes. At the same time, Uzume then started screaming her attack very loudly through her megaphone, using her Dream Roar skill.

"UWAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Orange Heart screamed as loud as she could, causing the ground to crumble beneath the monster horde as the the combination of Nepgeardam's energy blast and loud soundwaves hit the monster's directly. Many of them were instantly de-pixelated and the rest were later taken care of by the surviving Planeptune soldiers. With the battle over, both Orange Heart and Purple Sister lands on to the Basilicom and deactivates their HDD before coming back inside.

"Heh, those monster aren't so tough against a cool CPU like me, along with Gearsy." Uzume proudly declares, but then notices that someone is missing as she looks around.

"Hey, I notice that Nepsy wasn't in the battle. Where is she?"

Uzume turns to Nepgear only to find her getting depressed. "Gearsy, what's wrong? Did something bad happen to Nepsy?"

Nepgear then turns around and struggles to explain to Uzume what happened. "Onee-chan has...Onee-chan...She...She has been arrested."

At first, Uzume didn't know if she was being serious or not, but decided to ask to make sure. "Hold on, what did you say about Nepsy? Arrested? There is no way that could ever happen to Planeptune's CPU. Quit pulling my leg Gearsy."

Nepgear became a little irritated over Uzume's response. "I am serious, Uzume-san! Onee-chan is currently at the Planeptune Correctional Facility!"

Uzume couldn't believe her ears after hearing that. "WHAT!? What did Nepsy do that landed her into prison!?"

Nepgear then started to explain to Uzume everything that happened that led to Neptune's arrest from Aldren's attack towards her all the way to the CPU's trip to the area of the destroyed fallout shelter. It didn't take long for Uzume to understand the situation and soon found herself conflicted.

"So you are telling me that this Aldy guy attacked Nepsy to avenge his family's death that was caused by the battle with that purple hag that you say she caused and this later led to an investigation, which didn't end well for Nepsy and has now been arrested, because of that. It's hard to believe that Nepsy would kill innocent people, even though it was an accident."

"I don't believe that Onee-chan would have made that mistake on her own either. Uni-chan did find something within the debris and I am currently investigating." Nepgear then shows the tablet to Uzume, who is a bit unimpressed.

"Um Gearsy, why would this old thing be so important? Do you think this device had something to do with what Nepsy did to the shelter?"

"Yes, because this device was the only thing that was outside as if it was just right next to or on top of the shelter while almost all of the victim's other belongings were found within the pile of the debris. The scary thing is that it still works. Here, let me show you."

Nepgear then places the device on to the table and turns it on, causing the entire table to disappear in front of their eyes, making it look like the tablet is floating.

"What the!? Did your table just disappear, Gearsy!?" Uzume is currently in a state of shock.

"You can still see the tablet, because I didn't turn on the setting for it. As you can tell by now, this device doesn't make objects disappear or turn invisible like when I first thought, but actually camouflages any non-living item it touches to make it look invisible."

"So if this thing can camouflage anything it touches, do you think that Nepsy...?"

"Yes, when they were fighting Arfoire, none of the CPUs have actually spotted the shelter because of this tablet. The shelter was just right below them."

"Well, with this new evidence you found, we should be able get Nepsy out of the prison."

"Its not that simple, Uzume-san. As of right now, even though we now know that the tablet is the cause, Onee-chan will still face chargers of manslaughter for being the one that attacked them. We need to find out who left it there and why. Only then can we prove Onee-chan's innocence."

"I see. In that case, I will put my quest on hold for now and help you free Nepsy. I still owe both you and her for the numerous times you two helped me in Zero Dimension."

With Uzume's offer of assistance, Nepgear's hope has risen up a bit. "Let's get Onee-chan out."

Before they can get back out, Histoire suddenly rushes into the room. "We just receive another troubling report! The monsters aren't the only ones that are coming!"

"WHAT!?" Both Uzume and Nepgear yelled.

From a far distance, a larger army of metallic suits, apparently sleeker versions of the armor that Aldren used to attack Purple Heart, are currently flying towards each nation. Luckily, the nations aren't in their line of sight at the moment, giving each nation some time to prepare for the oncoming threat, although their defenses were heavily weakened by the monster attack. In Lastation, Noire and Uni are currently assisting the injured soldiers and civilians while getting the able-bodied men to restore some of their defensive capabilities. Vert is currently getting some medicine in Leanbox for her own injured soldiers. In Lowee, Blanc had Rom and Ram evacuate citizens into all available shelters while assisting the workers to fix the nation's defenses as well. Back in Planeptune, panic has spread over the attack as many of the civilians were placed in emergency shelters and some are even running into the Basilicom for protection, begging their CPU for assistance.

"We better try to buy some time for the people to evacuate!"

"Hai!"

Both Uzume and Nepgear rushed outside to prepare for battle, but then spotted a familiar stoic-looking fish coming towards them.

"Gearsy, Uzume, I see that you have managed to evacuate a majority of the civilians." The fish said in a soothing voice.

"Umio, nice timing! Listen to me, an army of small mech suits are heading over here. Can you help with the evacuation?"

"Understood. Just make sure that you and Gearsy don't push yourselves too hard."

"We will be okay. Just make sure that everyone gets out." Nepgear answered.

Umio then heads back to the Basilicom, where he unintentionally attracted unwanted attention for his appearance.

"Wah! A talking fish! Why the heck does he have such a soothing voice!?"

"Why does that fish have a face of a man!? Could it be another monster!?"

"Quick! Call one of the guards and kill this thing before it attacks us!"

"Now wait, all of you please calm down. Let's just talk about this!" Umio soon finds himself being chased by guards and an angry mob, who they have mistaken as one of the monsters attacking.

Sweat drops form on Uzume and Nepgear over the sight.

"Perhaps we should have thought more about how people would have reacted if a talking fish suddenly appears in front of them."

"My bad. I am too used to having him assist in evacuations since most of the ones back home were monsters." Uzume takes the blame.

"H-Hey, careful with my fins!" One of the people chasing Umio is trying to cut him with a sword.

"I better go back to help him. Since it will be a quarter of the day before the mechs arrive, can you keep watch just in case?"

"Sure thing Uzume-san. Ehehe..." Nepgear sighs as Uzume rushes back through the crowd to save Umio.

* * *

Back in the Planeptune Correctional Facility...

Aldren is currently watching the news and is surprised to see an army of mech suits currently en route to Planeptune.

"You have got to be kidding me! There is no way that such mech suits could come into a quick production in just a matter of days! It took me a couple of years just to develop and build a couple of mine altogether!"

Aldren then takes a closer look at the screen in hopes for an up-close shot on one of the mech suits. After a few minutes, Aldren notices something on one of the bots and is dismayed by what he sees.

"Of all the people who could have seen my prints, it just had to that no-good lazy homicidal pig that saw it! Shit, Planeptune will be finished unless I can get out!"

As Aldren tries to think of a plan, he suddenly hears a couple of voices arguing with each other, one voice belonging to a boy, the other belonging to a girl. Aldren immediately knew who one of the voices belonged to.

"Miss, you are not yet allowed back here! You should be evacuating with the other civilians!" One of the guards yelled.

"You need to let Nep-ko out! She is the CPU of this nation and she needs to be out there fighting!" IF fought back.

"You think you can trust a CPU about to be charged with manslaughter!?"

"The investigation is still ongoing! Let's just say that she is not guilty for now and have her help us!"

"IF! Come here!" Aldren called out.

IF then turns to see Aldren and rushes towards him. "Aldren, you already know what is happening outside, right!?"

"Yeah, and I think I might have an idea who did it." Aldren then turns to the guard. "I know that this is an unthinkable request from a prisoner, but I need you to let me out."

"Sorry, we don't let prisoners out of the cell. Prisoners will be evacuated if you are actually worried about your safety."

"These things that are coming, I might know how to stop them!"

"Why would you know how!? Did you build these bots!?"

"No. I didn't built these, but I can recognize some of the tech that was used to built them. Let me out and I swear I can stop it."

Both Aldren and IF stared intensely at the guard, who is now conflicted on what to do. The guard then looked at the TV and saw the frightened civilians struggling to find shelter. After a moment of silence, the guard reluctantly relents and unlocks Aldren's cell.

"Fine, but you better not be lying. Everyone is going to be killed if these things aren't stopped soon and I have a family that wants to survive."

Aldren then turns to IF. "If we are going to stop this, I am also going to need your help. Will you assist?"

IF nodded to his request.

"Alright, just one more thing."

Aldren then turns to the cell where Neptune is being held in and makes another request that shocks both the guard and even IF.

"Let her out."

* * *

 **Yes! Finally another chapter done! Sorry it took so long, but with my college graduation nearing, I lost motivation to do fanfics. I don't know when I will work on the next chapter, but I haven't abandoned my fanfics so look forward to more, even if it takes a long time. I purposely laid out more clues towards what happened during the CPUs fight with Arfoire that left Aldren orphaned just in case my next chapter will take a while to complete. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. In case there are complaints about the anti-aircraft weapons in this Neptunia fic, there are many instances in the games of soldiers with modern rifles and even robots so I believe that anti-aircraft guns exist in the universe as well.**


	5. Chapter 5

"Wait Aldren, what did you say?" IF became confused over Aldren's request.

The guard is also as equally confused. "Were you just telling me to let her out just now?"

"Yes, leaving from here to my house is a long walk and being out in the open won't be safe with all these machines monitoring the sky. With the other CPUs busy and my suit destroyed, we are almost completely out of options."

IF then looked at the screen and saw that the mechs have Planeptune in sight. "You are right, but what made you change your mind all of a sudden? It didn't look like you were willing to trust her at all."

Aldren then remembered Neptune's tearful apology after she finally realized why he held a grudge against the CPU.

 _"Aldren! I am sorry! I am sorry for what happened!"_

"Whether or not I forgive her, those tears have shown sadness and sorrow, the same tears I shed when I lost my family as much as I hate to admit it. If she seeks forgiveness, then this is her chance for atonement for what she has done. I want her to show me that the CPUs are not the fake Goddesses that I thought of them to be since the incident. With the threat we are facing right now, I will say one last time; let her out."

The guard relents after hearing Aldren's reasons and reluctantly opens the door, showing a scene that the three of them did not expect; Neptune sleeping peacefully on her cell bed surrounded by empty pudding containers.

"... _This pudding is...zzz...delicious..."_ Neptune also happens to be sleep-talking.

"You gave all of this to her, didn't you?" Aldren turned to the guard.

"Well, she is still our nation's CPU after all. It would be unfair to treat her as if she was a cold-blooded murderer considering what happened was all a big accident."

Aldren scoffs. "Doesn't matter now. I am waking her up."

Entering the cell, Aldren started roughly shaking Neptune. "Hey Neptune, the world is in danger, get up now!"

 _"...Mmh...not so rough...you are going to...make me...spill..."_ Neptune is still sleep-talking despite the rough shaking.

"Neptune, if you don't get up this instant, I will be dumping cold water all over you!" The more Aldren tries to shake Neptune awake, the more irritated he becomes.

IF, seeing Aldren's growing irritation, makes another suggestion. "Aldren, please calm down. I know you still don't fully trust her, but rather than being rough on her, can you please try another way instead? How about trying to trick her awake?"

Aldren takes a moment of silence to think and reluctantly accepts IF's suggestion. "With all those empty pudding cups, then maybe..."

"Hey Neptune, if you don't get up now, you will miss the pudding half-off sale going on today!"

As soon as Neptune heard that, she immediately jumps up and looks around. "Nepu! There is a half-off sale of pudding today!? I better leave now!"

Aldren couldn't help, but laugh a little at Neptune's naivety. "There is no sale. I lied to get you to wake up."

It didn't take long for Neptune to become depressed and teary-eyed after realizing she has been tricked. "Mou, you are so cruel, messing with my love for pudding like that!"

"Now is not the time for that! There is an invasion going on so I need you to come with me and help stop this!"

Neptune is shocked at Aldren's sudden order to help. "EHHH! You are asking me for help!? But I thought you hated me and the CPUs for what happened to you!"

"I still not convinced, but I will admit, seeing you turn yourself in did get me thinking. If you truly are remorseful for what happened, then show it to me or kiss Planeptune and the other nations of Gamindustri goodbye."

"Hey, you didn't have to threaten me!" Neptune protested.

"I am not threatening you! Look!" Aldren pointed at the TV.

"W-W-WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!?" Neptune screamed as she watches the screen.

"Why are there mech suits heading to the nations!? Since when did this series became a war story!?"

Aldren only becomes more irritated as Neptune panicked. "Neptune, snap out of it! Now that you know what is going on, are you going to help me or not!?"

"Of course! Planeptune is in danger and all of the other CPUs are fighting so I shouldn't be left out!"

"Alright, with that settled, let's take care of this problem."

Before Aldren, IF, and Neptune can leave, however, the guard gave the boy the only unbroken weapon that was confiscated at sight, one of the energy blades of his former suit, and wanted to say one last thing to them.

"Hey, if you three manage to save Gamindustri, I will erase whatever criminal history Aldren and Neptune have. This world right now needs heroes to save it."

In a rare moment, Aldren gave a small smile at the guard, which quickly wears off. "I am no hero, not after everything I have done. Worry about saving yourself and your family first."

Aldren turns back and the three walked out of the prison as the mechs fly over them towards the capital.

* * *

Within an hour...

"Purple Heart, two more on top of us! IF, there is one to your right! I will take care of the ones in the front!"

"Got it!" IF manages to slash the mech's core after Aldren informed the two of the mechs' weakness of the frontal armor.

As the three try to make their way, some of the suits spotted and attempted to intercept them, but the group were more than prepared due to Aldren's knowledge of the mechs' general schematics.

"I am in a terrible mood today so get out of my way!" The mech ignores Aldren and attempts to fire its' gun, but it was chopped off before it can aim and the rest of it was sliced in half a second later through the core, shocking both Purple Heart and IF.

"Hold on! Did you just kill somebody!?" IF screamed as she looked at what is left of the sliced mech.

"That was completely unnecessary Aldren! What you have committed is murder!" Purple Heart is also angry over what just happened.

Aldren sighs in response. "Just take a look whether there is actually someone in it before you say I have killed!"

The girls stopped in their tracks and looked inside of one of the destroyed suits. Much to their surprise, there was actually no one in it.

"The one responsible for all of this doesn't exactly have enough manpower to operate each of them individually. It is more accurate to label them as drones rather than mechs." Aldren explained.

"So this means that we didn't have to hold back in the first place!" IF then slices the head of the drone that suddenly appeared right before her using her hidden knife.

"And if they can be destroyed just like that, this means that we can fight back against them!"

Aldren then notices Purple Heart appearing as if she was about to leave to the capital and stopped her before she can do so.

"It's not that simple. What we have been fighting were only scout drones. The main army is the one that is the real threat and I highly doubt your defenses could take on hundreds of them, which are more heavily-armored and supplied with mostly anti-crystals as their energy source, coming all at once."

Purple Heart is surprised over what she just heard. "What!? Where the heck did they manage to find such a supply to power all of this!?"

"Now is not a good time to explain! We need to get what is left of the schematics back at my place before they destroy the nations!"

IF nodded. "Agreed! But afterwards, we would like to hear what you know of all of this."

Aldren nodded before turning his head back to the road. With the scouts destroyed, Purple Heart turns back to Neptune and the group makes a run for the Planeptune outskirts.

* * *

In the front of Aldren's house...

IF and Neptune were surprised to see a mansion located in the isolated outskirts and well hidden to the point where the entire nation of Planeptune didn't know this house existed.

"Wow, this would definitely be a good place to get away from city life."

"Woah, I like this! This house feels like one of those secret bases that heroes come out of to save the world! We are going to be heroes of Planeptune!" Neptune shouted excitedly.

"Shut up Neptune! Never in my life have I ever considered myself a hero nor do I ever want to be! If you really are the CPU of this nation, then why do you rarely notice the misery of the people who needed you the most!? That person responsible for all of this had good reasons to hate the CPUs as different as we are!"

Aldren's anger caused Neptune to quiet down and look down at the possibility of playing an indirect role for the current chaos of the four nations. IF, seeing Neptune saddened by Aldren's scolding, intervened to try to calm the latter.

"Please stop! Getting angry at Nep-ko won't solve anything! Let's just focus on stopping the drone army!"

"Tch! You are right! Everyone, into the house!"

Aldren disarmed the security in front of the gate using the computerized bracelet connected to his blade and the gate automatically opens soon after. After getting inside the gate, Aldren reaches for the door, but suddenly the door opened before he could grab the handle and in front of him stood a familiar figure.

"Who the heck could have access to the house at a time like..."

"Perhaps the person who helped save your family."

Blake is shocked at Aldren's sudden arrival. "Sir Aldren!? I thought you were dead!"

"Well sorry to disappoint! Anyway, we have to stop these drones!"

"Most of the things in your workshop were left intact, but may I ask why do you have a girl and the nation's CPU with you? I thought you don't trust her."

"When the world is in danger, you have no choice other than to take any help you can get." Aldren and the girls then head to his workshop.

IF and Neptune became amazed once again, seeing state-of-the-art technology all in one room, including drone mechanics, garbage collectors, and even a "3-Vision" sensors that has infrared, night, and x-ray vision acting as a highly-advanced security camera in the workshop.

"There are a lot of things in this room that doesn't exist within the general public of Gamindustri so don't touch anything until I say so."

Aldren then heads to what appears to be his work dest, but using a thumbprint scanner at the bottom of the desk, the wall suddenly turns and from the other side, it was replaced by a keyboard and a giant computer screen with other equipment connected on both sides.

"Um, Mister Aldren, this is cool and all, but what is the point on building such a cliche hiding spot for your computer when there are other very cool inventions in this room?" Neptune asked.

"To make room for other projects. IF, you see that cube-shaped container over there? I need you to bring it to me."

"Got it!" IF then brings the container and puts it down next to the keyboard.

"Alright, time to take a look at the wavelengths and frequency used for these drones." Aldren then reached for the cabinet on the bottom of the keyboard to take out a secret copy of the blueprints of his suit these drones are based on.

"Since my original blueprints were given away, I will have to make do with this."

Aldren then pushes the container from the handle, causing it to split in two, revealing a blue colored cylinder with some sort of miniaturized computer on the front with simple controls. Aldren then connects some of the cables from the computer to the cylinder.

"IF, this is a signal disruptor connected to miniaturized computer that controls certain frequencies. Once the frequency of these drones shows up on screen, I need you to match it so I can shut them all down."

"Wait, how do you know all of these drones run on the same frequency?"

"It's a failsafe I included should my work is either copied or stolen and used against me. As long as what they create is based on my work, even their own input won't make their technology safe from the range of the signal disruption. With their goal of eliminating CPUs, most likely the drones' power source would be traces of anti-crystal. However, in order to contain it, they have to use similar metals, if not the same, and other components labeled in my blueprints. Furthermore, the drones won't work without an adequate amount of these traces to power it up, but adding more than the needed amount will cause the anti-crystal to leak out, causing the drones to use up its power faster, resulting in similar wavelengths and frequencies."

"I see, so that's how all of them will be disabled at the same time. Very smart."

"Hey, wait a minute! Where do I play in all of this if just you and Iffy are enough to handle!?" Neptune complained.

"Quiet down! The signal disruptor will cause the drones to lose control, but that alone won't shut them down as long as the anti-crystal acts as its power source! Your shares in whatever form can act as a counter to that power out to make sure they are shut off for good!"

"Hold on, the anti-crystal mainly negates shares and usually not the other way around!" IF pointed out.

"That is generally the case, but not if you have the right tools to make a reverse in effect, which is what the signal disruptor was also built for."

"If this machine requires shares to counter the effects of anti-crystals, how exactly were you going to get shares in the first place?"

"You think I only used the anti-crystals just as a power source? That crystal may drain shares, but pure energy cannot be destroyed. I was planning to absorb these shares after beating Purple Heart and use it against the other 3 goddesses in an attempt to expose them as unnecessary, but I was attacked by White Heart before I was able to do so!"

"Oh yeah! Blanc nearly killed you back then-!" Before Neptune could say another word, Aldren suddenly activates out his energy blade and hold it near her neck, silencing the Planeptune CPU.

"It was because of you and Blanc I became even more bitter towards the two of you compared to the rest! If you still want to help, then do me a favor and never mention that again!"

"Alright Aldren, please calm down. I am sure Nep-ko means no harm by what she said, right?"

IF turns to Neptune, who nodded in return, causing him to reluctantly draw back his weapon.

"Anyway, the two of you now know your parts. The frequency is now shown on my computer IF, copy it to the disruptor."

"Understood." IF then begins using the mini computer to match the frequency to the one shown on the screen.

"Neptune, place any share-made item onto the scanner."

"Hai!" Neptune then transforms to Purple Heart and places her hand into the scanner, which confuses Aldren.

"I only needed something like a blade. Why are you placing your hand instead?"

"No harm in giving a little more. Besides, you can use the extra shares in case an event like this repeats itself."

Aldren sighs in response. "Whatever, we got what we needed. Now let's finish this."

Aldren then begins pressing the keyboard at a fast rate and the computer begins targeting all of the drones within range located at all for nations. As the three watch the news clips showing on the corner of the monitor, they can already see the drones starting to cause damage to the nations, with both the CPUs and other defenders having trouble taking them down in large numbers. Casualties are shown on screen as bodies of the defenders begin piling up, forcing a retreat in both Planeptune and Lowee while Lastation and Leanbox are barely holding their own. Having had enough, Aldren increases his typing speed.

"Is the disruptor ready!?"

"Yes! The frequencies are now a match!" IF confirmed.

"Good. Sorry Gamindustri, but I am going to need to hack your satellites for only a couple of minutes."

The Gamindustri satellites then begin pointing at their respective nations for accuracy. With all of the drones seen on screen using the satellite cameras, Aldren activates the disruptor.

"Adios you cheap imitators!"

The satellites then starts sending waves towards the nations. After the waves past the atmosphere, they soon hit the ground and all of the drones and other electronics and tech possibly using the same frequency began to shut down. Despite the massive shut down, it is still not safe to go outdoors due to a new problem the shut down has caused; having thousands of 200+ pounds of metal falling from high altitude and on to the ground in all of the nations. There was even a report of one of the drones falling on top of Black Heart after it went through the ceiling.

"So this gag exists in this fanfic as well! Sheesh, why is it so amusing for things to fall on me!" It was Black Heart who broke the 4th wall this time.

"Onee-chan..." Uni sighs at the sight of her sister struggling to get the drone off of her.

With the invading drones deactivated, Aldren and IF both breath a sigh of relief while Neptune is still the same perky self after transforming back from Purple Heart, excited at the fact that they saved Gamindustri.

"Hurray! We saved Gamindustri and now our people can finally walk out in the open again!"

Aldren shook his head. "Not really Neptune. We may have stopped the immediate threat, but as long as Claude has all four nations on his sight, the people will never be safe."

"Who exactly is Claude by the way?" IF asked after closing the disruptor.

"A maniac who tried to recruit me in the past and the one most likely responsible for this attempted invasion. I am going to need Blake to explain this to me, but for now good job." Aldren took a look at Neptune and nodded. "Both of you did a good job."

"Eh!? You acknowledged me just now! Does that mean that you forgive me!?"

Neptune grabbed Aldren's right hand out of excitement. Unfortunately, this trigger Aldren's flashback of seeing his loved ones moving away from him.

 _"You have failed us!"_ A voice was heard among them.

"GAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH" Aldren grabs his head and writhes in agony.

"Aldren!" Both IF and Neptune attempted to calm him, but when the latter's hand attempt to reach him, he swats it away and begins screaming.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

"What!? Aldren, what are you talking about? What is happening?"

Aldren couldn't answer IF's questions and painfully gives a warning to Neptune. "NEPTUNE! IF YOU DON'T WANT ME TO HURT YOU, THEN LEAVE! LEAVE THIS ROOM BEFORE I LOSE WHATEVER SENSE OF REASON I HAVE LEFT!"

"H-Hai!" A terrified Neptune then leaves the workshop and runs to the living room where she bumps into Blake where she started pointing fingers.

"Oh, it's the butler guy!"

"I can hear Sir Aldren screaming in pain! What did you do to him!?" Blake stares intensely at Neptune.

"I didn't do anything bad! I was excited that we saved Gamindustri so I grabbed Aldren's hand in the moment and all of a sudden, he started to look like he was in pain!" Neptune explained.

Blake looked at the entrance to the workshop with a worried look on his face. "It appears that Sir Aldren has not found his peace yet."

Back inside, Aldren is still writhing in pain from the continuous flashbacks of his difficult childhood, from the death of his family to the abuse and neglect from the orphanage. The very worried IF clasp on to Aldren's right hand, trying to affirm him that everything is okay.

"Listen, don't focus too much on the difficult parts of your past! I know that you have some good memories in their from when you were young! Think about those instead! You already saw how Nep-ko is, proving that she never meant to make your life more difficult and she is remorseful for it as well! Don't let the pain get to you! Remember the good times! You have good early memories right!? Like when you told me about your family movie night!"

Aldren soon starts to calm down. "Yes..."

"Then within those memories, start remembering the best one of them all. Which one stands out to you the most?"

Aldren then remembers the events of his 7th birthday when all of his friends and his family were all together, including his parents and his sister Ani."

"I remember when we took a trip to the ocean on the father of my friend's boat, seeing whales and looking at the stars with everyone. The sight of a whale breaching, the shooting stars in the sky...it almost felt like fantasy. It also felt like I could touch the sky and that the sight of the gleaming ocean is what Heaven would be like. I wanted to believe that this is where my family is right now...a birthday that I have never forgotten."

"Aldren..." That was all IF could say after listening to him.

Aldren then turns to IF. "I don't know if I could ever find peace within myself. I have tried many times, but I wasn't able to find what I was looking for in the end. For both me and Neptune's sake, I need her to keep away from me at this time."

"I understand." IF then lets go of Aldren's hand and prepares to leave the workshop, but not before turning back to him one more time.

"I may not fully understand the predicament that is going on in your head, but I do know this; the more you run away from your past, the more it will only hurt you. You must learn to accept all of yourself, not just the parts you want to keep. Once you learn to accept your past, it will no longer get in your way and hopefully make it easier to find what you have been looking for. Also remember Aldren, you are not doing this alone, you have me and Neptune who, even though you probably want to kill right now, never had a give up attitude and is willing to support you till the end even if you hate her. I am telling you this because I want to give you something to think about. I will keep Neptune away from you for the time being. Anyway, see you later."

IF then leaves the door, leaving the mentally confused Aldren on his computer seat.

"...Not alone huh?"

IF then sees Blake serving tea to Neptune, who happily accepts, and offers her one as well, but she refuses.

"Hello there Miss IF, it seems as though you are able to calm Sir Aldren down. I am very thankful for what you did."

"No need to thank me um..." IF never got the butler's name when she, Neptune, and Aldren entered the house.

"Ah, pardon me. My name is Blake. I currently served as the butler to Sir Aldren."

"Blake, got it. I am sure you got my name from Neptune, right?"

"Indeed."

"Anyway, no need to thank me. Aldren is a good person overall. The only thing is that it seems like he tried to handle his problems on his own without any help. He needs to be convinced that there are others willing to help him if he would just open up."

"He won't do such a thing immediately. It has to be with someone he trusts, which is why I also know what he is going through. However, I was not able to help him progress as far as you did Miss IF. Not only that, but for him to bring his most hated CPU to his manor. What happened after I lost contact with him?"

"It's a long story."

"Uh-oh, this is going to be another one of those long explanation scenes. I hope the author changes the scene so we don't have to repeat this part of the story." Neptune then takes another sip of her tea.

"Well, it goes like this..."

"Nepu! The scene hasn't changed yet! Hurry up before I have to listen to this part of the story again!"

* * *

Back in the warehouse...

After being notified that all of the drones involved in the attacks were shut down, Claude became enraged, yelling and asking how could all of the drones shut down nearly at the same time when they were being controlled by groups of his strongest supporters rather than one person.

"Where the hell is my advisor!? I want to know how this could have happened!"

"Please calm down sir. Our technicians are working as fast as they could to determine the cause." One of his advisors tries to calm him down.

"Not fast enough! If we don't figure this out soon, this failure would set us back months if not years!"

"We still have enough drones to launch another invasion. Once we get the details, we can reconfigure the plan to destroy the nations of Gamindustri using them."

"It won't matter if they shut off again! We are going to need to start all over again at this rate!"

As Claude continues his tirade, his messenger comes out of one of the office doors and approaches him. "Sir, we have found the cause!"

Claude then calms down and turns to his messenger. "Finally, some news. Well? Did you find any flaws in the drones we need to work on?"

"It wasn't the drones sir. Take a look at this." The messenger then took out a damaged chip removed from one of the drone's head and tossed it onto Claude's hands. The chip still has electric sparks shooting out, indicating that it had short-circuited.

"Sir, this chip process information from our computers in order to control them. If it gets damaged, then the drone becomes uncontrollable and shuts off."

"But even if the drones become uncontrollable, that itself is not enough to shut off the drone completely, at least not without damaging the power cores. Anti-crystals can be contained, but not countered." Claude pointed out.

"Not unless Shares are converted into a counter-balance. With the amount of drones we sent, such energy would need to cover a large enough range to shut them all down at once. Whoever did this must have used the Gamindustri satellites as an EMP using Shares."

"But no one could have known of this other than..." It took a while for Claude to figure out who could have been responsible.

"Damn it, Aldren is still alive!"

"Should we alert his friends of his presence?"

"No. That would only make things more complicated than they already are. I am going to have a word with him in a bit and see if he is willing to come to us this time. Make sure the drones are combat-ready for the next assault and redesign the components to prevent another forced shutdown."

"Yes sir!"

Claude then heads to his office and slams the door, causing his advisors to worry about his behavior.

* * *

Back in Aldren's house...

"I see. So that's why Sir Aldren is with both Miss IF and Miss Neptune. For him to be at the Planeptune correctional facility. It's no wonder I wasn't able to contact him."

"Thank you author for changing the scene to the end!" Neptune yelled as she took another sip of her tea.

IF crosses her arms. "I believe that Aldren is slowly growing out of his hatred for the CPUs, but has yet to recover enough to actually get along with them. Even now, I have to make sure that Nep-ko here doesn't get too close to him."

"That's understandable, considering everything that happened to him then and just recently. I am just glad that he has found another he can trust."

"Although my trust might be back to one after finding that something is missing." Aldren suddenly shows up right in front of them.

"Sir Aldren, have you calmed down?" Blake then prepares another cup of tea.

"I don't need a cup of tea. Blake, when I saw the drones heading towards Planeptune, I knew immediately that these were based on my suit designs, which meant that someone gave away my blueprints. If I recall, only you and I knew where they were. Would you care to explain?"

"Understood. I will explain what happened since our last contact."

With Aldren being suspicious over Blake's motives for giving away his plans to Claude, the butler now has a task of making sure his master's trust in him doesn't waver as he begins telling his side of the story.

* * *

 **Managed to have time to write another chapter and conveniently having it done on New Year's Day.** **In case there are any complaints about how the anti-crystal is portrayed, whether CPUs can stop it varies with the media as Blanc easily stopped a tiny piece out of anger despite her body being powered by shares. Plus, each drone only needs an amount smaller than the one Blanc destroyed anyway and with that power contained, the drones cannot defend themselves from the disruptor before the anti-crystal could negate it.** **No guarantees that the next chapter will come in a short time due to struggling with real-life. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and a Happy New Year to all.**


	6. Chapter 6

After Aldren used Gamindustri satellites to disable enemy drones, he confronts Blake in the living room alongside Neptune and IF over the blueprints that were used to create them, which only he and his butler knew where they were. Suspicious over how his prints were seen, Blake decided to reveal what happened since his capture by Planeptune police. Aldren is shocked over the contents of the story he is being told.

"YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT BECAUSE YOU ALL THOUGHT I WAS DEAD, YOU GAVE A COPY OF MY PRINTS TO A POWER HUNGRY MADMAN!? I TOLD YOU AND THEM TO NEVER MAKE DEALS WITH HIM!" Aldren shouted with Neptune and IF covering their ears.

After the yelling stopped, Neptune let out a sigh as she lets go of her ears.

"To think that a new chapter of this story is finally released after a long time and the first thing that happens is Aldren yelling so loud that it feels like my ears will blow up."

"I am sorry, but after hearing from your friends that White Heart may have killed you, it was like a final straw for us. You had a hatred of CPUs for quite a long time and after your supposed death, it felt like we now understand that hatred and why you wanted revenge for what they had done to you. I didn't really like Claude any more than you do, but he is the only one besides you capable of making these weapons. We were determined to avenge you after believing that CPUs were only watching after themselves and that we didn't need them. Even though you and Claude have very different approaches, both of your goals were similar nonetheless and hoped that such differences can be overcome, but after seeing what happened, I am truly regretful for giving in to such hatred. If only we had listened."

After listening to Blake's story, Aldren then calms down. "If this mistake was caused by both you and my friends you better make it up to me by helping me stop Claude. I guess such a thing could happen since I was mistaken to be dead. Where are my friends now?"

"They are currently with Claude. No doubt that they noticed the failure of their attack and are probably planning their next move."

Aldren shook his head. "My friends are not monsters so I am guessing that Claude is using my death to keep them there with the promise of vengeance. With all the drones gone, it is possible that Claude now knows that I am alive, but will probably keep them in the dark to make sure that there are no setbacks. We will definitely have to strike back before they do."

"If your friends are doing this out of vengeance for your death then I am sure that by revealing yourself, they will turn their backs on Claude."

"It's not that simple IF. If Claude knows I am alive, he would send my friends on a far-off mission beyond our range of communication to prevent them from finding out. He knows how to plan ahead, especially when there are setbacks. However, I have also planned ahead just in case, although being imprisoned delayed it quite a bit. Now we have a new mission, to stop Claude himself. All of you better prepare for we are heading for war."

Neptune becomes surprised that Aldren is involving her in this. "Huh!? Even me!?"

"There are questions that still need to be answered regarding what happened ten years ago, but even I know when to put these issues aside, especially when there is a madman daring enough to destroy the foundation of Gamindustri itself. With all of this happening, I am going to need all the help I can get."

IF nodded. "If that's the case, then count me in!"

Neptune suddenly got her motivation. "I don't know if it will atone for what I have done to you, but I swear I will make up for it and for all the half-priced pudding in the world! By the way, I am glad to finally meet another person who can pronounce my full name! A lot of characters often have trouble so they often gave me nicknames!"

 _"I swear, this girl will go all the way to the ends of the world for a high-class cup pudding."_

Aldren sighs at such a thought.

"Anyway, Blake, I will need you to keep watch for unusual activity within Gamindustri. Me, IF, and Neptune will make contact with the other CPUs and to investigate Claude's whereabouts since he has probably moved by then."

"Leave it to me Sir Aldren." Blake then heads to the workshop to operate the supercomputer with the rest following.

"Um Aldy, being able to do things behind the computer is one thing, but how exactly are you going to fight a full-scale war with just your energy blades? Your suit was destroyed and you couldn't have built a new one in jail."

"Don't suddenly give me a nickname. I already told you earlier that I can also plan ahead. Although I didn't expect to be in jail, I had another suit made with improvements over the one you and Blanc have fought. I didn't think I would have to use such a suit against you since I have done the math, but it's good to have stronger back up. If I hadn't been ambushed and imprisoned, you would have faced this."

Aldren heads to a pod and opens it after placing his hand on to a scanner, opening it. Inside of that pod is another well-armored suit, very similar in appearance to the armor used in his battle with the Planeptune CPU, albeit with some differences, including a darker color scheme and thicker, heavily reinforced, chest and shoulder pads, making it slightly more bulky than its predecessor.

"The armor, weapons, and software of this suit are more recently updated than that of my earlier suit, including improved scanners, the speed of its thrusters, as well as the use of honeycomb tech for flexibility and movement of the armor plates. Even White Heart's hammer would have trouble breaking through this."

Neptune was in aww over the new suit. "Woah! Nepgear would be all over that suit if she saw this! If you had use that! If this suit truly is an upgraded form from the one you used to fight us, then this story would have taken a much different direction!"

IF, however, has concerns over the suit's tech. "I just hope that this doesn't cause as much destruction as those drones."

"It should be fine as long as one knows how to use it. For the time being, let's head to Planeptune and recruit some back up. Is your sister still in town, Neptune?"

"Yeah, she is..." Neptune became quiet suddenly.

"...Knowing her, she is probably investigating what happened during the battle with Arfoire ten years ago. With her thinking that I am still in jail, Nepgear might be still trying to get me out or trying to defend Planeptune on her own after seeing the drones."

"...Nep-ko..." IF can still sense Neptune's guilt of killing Aldren's family.

Taking notice of the state of IF and Neptune, Aldren decides to put his tragedy aside. "Let's leave it at that for now. Come on, let's look for Nepgear."

Aldren then finally puts on the suit and waits for all of the systems turn on. Neptune then transform herself back into Purple Heart as IF decides to head out of the house first.

"I will be heading back with my bike. I will meet both of you back at the Basilicom once I get my gear."

"Understood!" Purple Heart responded as she sees off IF.

"Alright, let's head out ourselves." Aldren then pulls a switch next to the pod and opens the ceiling door, surprising Purple Heart.

"The amount of features you added to your house, you really are prepared for everything, aren't you?"

"Like I said, I think ahead whenever I prepare for something, though I cannot always predict how things would turn out. Again, let's go."

Both Aldren and Purple Heart then flew up and head to Planeptune as the ceiling door closes.

* * *

In Planeptune...

Within a few moments of leaving Aldren's house, both he and Purple Heart arrived to the latter's nation, only to find at least one third of the nation covered in debris due to the Claude's attack. Hundreds of deactivated drones can be seen scattered throughout the area as the inhabitants tried to remove them though progress has been slowed due to dealing with the clean up of the destroyed architecture as well as the heavy damage done to some of the sites housing construction equipment. While most of the damage has been done by the monsters, the drones have done a fair share of damage as well, including their 200+ pound weight after Aldren shut them down, going through roofs and damaging roads.

"Planeptune sure had better days." Aldren commented from looking at nation's sad state.

Purple Heart is even more unhappy with the damage done. "We better find Claude and put a stop to this. I highly doubt that we would be this lucky should he attack again."

"Then let's go find your sister."

However, before Aldren and Purple Heart are able to get closer to the Basilicom, two figures flying at high speed attempted to ambush the former. Aldren takes notice and summons the upgraded energy blades from his armored wrists, blocking a direct attack from them, but was knocked through one of the destroyed houses.

"Huh!? Was that Noire and Blanc!?"

Before Purple Heart is able to comprehend what just happen, she suddenly heard a large impact and saw White Heart knocked to the sky.

"GAH! YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" White Heart screamed.

"Ooph!" Noire is then seen by the two also knocked out of the destroyed house, but crashed into another destroyed building instead.

"Is that all you got or is my new gear too much for the CPUs?" Aldren then emerged from the rubble with only minor scratches to his armor.

"Don't think that just because you have new armor means that you can be stopped! I will make sure you pay for what you have done to our nations!" Black Heart yelled before charging towards Aldren with her blade, but the suit's A.I. picked up on her next attack and blocks it. Aldren then attacks Black Heart with his blades, although the latter was able to react quick enough to block the attack. However, the impact knocks her back once again.

"You must be more thickheaded than I thought if you think that I was responsible for all of this." Aldren argued back at Black Heart's false accusation.

"You are the only one we know who is able to build machines like that! There is no way to say that you are not responsible!" White Heart then prepares to strike back with her giant axe, but Aldren moves out of the way before it can hit.

Purple Heart then figured out that that the two CPUs are blaming Aldren for the attack and tries to stop it. "Wait! Blanc, Noire, stop! He wasn't responsible for this!"

Neither of the two listened and continues battling Aldren, who is able to hold more than his own against the CPUs. Black Heart attempted to go for a side swing, but using his armor's analyzers, Aldren is able to predict where the attack will hit and jumps behind the Lastation CPU, giving her a good kick on her back, knocking her to the ground before White Heart takes her turn to battle the trained armor user. Aldren, at this point, grew tired of trying to convince them of his innocence and decides to continue the battle until the CPUs exhaust themselves.

"Hey, enough is enough! This is a big misunderstanding!" Purple Heart again tries to stop her friends from fighting, but to no avail.

"So he truly wasn't responsible for the recent attack." A female voice was heard behind the Planeptune CPU.

"Vert!" Purple Heart then turns around to see Green Heart flying towards her.

"From the looks of it, Noire and Blanc are convinced that he was the one behind the string of attacks involving the monsters and drones, but after seeing you flying alongside him, that story doesn't appear to be true." Vert stated as she observes the battle.

"We've got to stop the two from fighting! We need him to deal with the one responsible!"

"I don't think we can. Once those two set their mind into something, it is very hard for them to get out. Besides, doesn't the boy look like he is enjoying himself? I cannot see his face with that helmet and faceplate though."

Purple Heart took a closer look and realizes that Aldren is not even trying to stop them anymore. "I almost forgot that Aldren still distrusts CPUs."

"I don't really blame him after what happened, which is why I was a bit surprised to see you with him at first."

"Aldren is often angry and vengeful, but he appears to be rational and doesn't let his emotions cloud his judgement, even though he is fighting both Noire and Blanc, probably because he had a score to settle with her after Blanc nearly killed him. You are right, it's pointless to stop them at this point."

"Let them tire each other out for the time being. We we will stop them if they go too far."

As White Heart and Black Heart continue their battle with Aldren, they both express heavy frustration at being unable to deal significant damage to the latter.

"Damn it, we can't seem to put him down!" Blanc screamed as she tries to swing her axe towards Aldren, only for him jump away from it.

"He must have prepared himself better compared to when you last face him!"

"What the hell is he doing out here anyway!? I thought he was locked in the Planeptune Correctional Facility!" White Heart yelled before being struck on the abdomen by Aldren's armored fist, knocking her back again.

"YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT! THAT HURTS!" White Heart groaned as she holds her stomach.

"Serves you right for nearly killing me during our first battle!"

Aldren then summons what appears to be rifle connected to his right wrist and aims at Lowee's CPU. "But this is going to hurt much more."

Realizing that Aldren is getting serious, Purple Heart finally decides to intervene, blocking Black Heart's incoming attack towards the armored boy.

"Huh!? Neptune!?" Black Heart is surprised by Purple Heart's sudden action.

"Aldren, please stop this as well! We cannot afford to be fighting each other!"

Realizing that he might be doing exactly what Claude wants, Aldren reluctantly stands down. "Fine, but tell that to them especially."

Now that the situation has calmed, both Purple Heart and Aldren explained everything that went down in the Planeptune Correctional Facility that led them to their current situation. Their reactions range from being somewhat understanding towards Aldren to being a little surprised at their whole predicament.

White Heart sighs after listening to their story. "I understand why it had to happen, but to think that the guards would be desperate that they would release you in hopes that you would help out, but for you to be the one that released Neptune. I thought you hated her for what she did."

Green Heart nodded. "Even I am surprised to know that someone who considers CPUs to be his true enemies would be willing to help the very one that he believes killed his family."

Aldren was quick to defend himself. "Hey, I maybe vengeful, but that does not mean I lack common sense or rationality. Right now I am open to the idea that the tragedy might not have been her intention, but that doesn't back the fact that it was her attack that killed everyone in the shelter and the that the rest of you left me behind in the rubble. However, right now its not the time for grudges. We now have to deal with someone who is more of a monster than I am and the one responsible for this recent attack."

Black Heart then turns her head in surprise. "Wait, you know who is responsible?"

"Perhaps it is best for me to say that I am not the only victim of the CPU war. The guy most likely responsible for the attack is my rival named Claude. Like me, the CPU war killed his family, but at an earlier time than mine, and led to him becoming an orphan. We both ended up at the school together as kids and became close friends, bonding through our losses and hatred of CPUs, but bullied as a result for our lack of support. As we got older, our ideals started to differentiate as I started making more friends while Claude becomes more solitary to everyone except me."

"Woah! Ladies and gentleman, we now have a story of Claude's road to villainy!" Neptune, who had transformed back from Purple Heart, again breaks the fourth wall.

"Hey Neptune, why did you turn back-!? Huh!? Why did I suddenly turn back!?" Noire realizes that she is no longer Black Heart.

Looking around the area, Aldren then sees that some of the drones' chest plates and figures out what is causing the abnormality. "It looks like we will have to continue this story later. I can see several drones' cracked open, leaking out some of the anti-crystals' power. We better go before you all lose your shares."

Aldren and the CPUs then head to the Planeptune's Basilicom to get away from the damaged drones.

* * *

In the Planeptune Basilicom...

Aldren and the CPUs had made it back safely inside where they were greeted by Planeptune's Oracle, Histoire.

"So the CPUs have managed to return after the horrible battle that had took place. Thank goodness for that, but who is that guy dressed in heavy armor?" Histoire then turns her attention towards Aldren, who remains silent.

Neptune, however, nervously introduces him to Histoire. "Um, this is Aldren, the guy whose family I might have killed."

"Huh!? I have heard of the tragedy, but to think that it would be him!"

The surprised Histoire then speedily makes her way in front of Aldren and bows to him. "It is nice to finally meet you Aldren. When I heard the story of what happened after Neptune's arrest, I couldn't believe it. I know that we cannot bring back the most important things you have lost, but on behalf of Neptune, Planeptune, and the rest of Gamindustri, I apologize for the hardships you have gone through since then and we will be willing to offer compensation of any form to redeem ourselves for what we have done. I am truly sorry."

Aldren then takes a deep look at Histoire, who is still apologetically bowing to him. Knowing that the incident wasn't her fault, the young inventor then takes a less hostile tone towards her, but decides to dismiss her pleas for forgiveness for the time being.

"We will talk about this later, but right now this isn't the time for that. We need to have all the CPUs gather for our next step."

"Understood. I will get Nepgear and Uzume to come here. By the way Aldren, despite everything, thank you for being willing to assist the CPUs in protecting Gamindustri." Histoire then left to get the two, leaving Aldren and the CPUs alone for the time being.

"I am guessing that Histoire is Planeptune's Oracle, right? She is a lot smaller than I thought."

"Well, Histy is a tome so it makes sense that she would be that size." Neptune explained.

Noire decides to have Aldren continue the rest of the story. "So what were you saying about your past with Claude?"

"Right. As I explained, Claude became a bit more solitary as he got older and all the way to our college graduation. Although he is also top of our school, he started distancing himself from me as I started making other friends. I still considered him a friend back then and I started finding his behavior becoming more bizarre as he is now seen alone more often than not. Out of worry, I asked if everything is alright and the first thing he said was "Do you still hate the CPUs? Do you still hate them for what they did to you and your family?" I told him yes I do and that if I were to ever meet them, I would make them wish they didn't exist. He then told me to come to his house after the graduation ceremony so I did. He took me up to the front of his room and asked me again to confirm if I truly hate the CPUs. I told him I hate you girls with a passion. He then asked me if I would be willing to join the crusade to ruin you girls and since I hated all of you, I had no reason to refuse...that is until I saw what was in his room."

The CPUs then anxiously wait for Aldren to tell the next part of the story.

"His room, it looked like a base used by terrorists. There were handmade bombs and maps lying around the shelves, torn pictures of the CPU's faces, and maps marking the important vital points of each of Gamindustri's nations. When he asked me if I would join, I realized what he was planning and tried to talk him out of it."

* * *

5 years ago...

 _"You told me that you wanted the CPUs ruined right!? Then let's begin our plan, starting with these bombs!"_

 _"Hold on Claude, even if I say that I would join you, there are numerous civilians around that area that could get caught by the blast!"_

 _Claude shook it it off as if their lives were of no concern. "Necessary sacrifices for the sake of the truth, Aldren. Do you want people to keep living underneath their deception?"_

 _"It is not worth killing them for!" Aldren shouted._

 _"Relax, its not like we are killing them indiscriminately. We will only target the vital areas of each nation and if the civilians are killed, then it is their own fault for walking into the range of the bombs'."_

 _"When I said that I wanted the CPUs ruined, I never wanted to go so far that it would turn us into monsters. I wanted everyone to know what the CPUs did, but I do not want them to pay the price for it."_

 _"What you want is impossible, especially with their supporters who would do anything to protect them. There is no avoiding casualties Aldren. That now leaves you with two choice, either join me and expose the truth, or continue to allow more victims to pile up like us." Claude then hands out one of the bombs to Aldren._

 _After giving some thought to the idea of joining, Aldren shook his head and pushed the bomb back towards him. "I can't bring myself to harm people who have no fault. I am sorry, but I will not be joining you."_

 _Claude remains calm, despite the rejection. "So you are saying you are going to stop me?"_

 _"I will not stop you if you are targeting the CPUs alone, but if you lay your hands on civilians, that is not something I can ignore. I will have to turn you in."_

 _"What about all we have been through? We have been friends since we were children and share the same hatred towards CPUs. Does that mean nothing to you?"_

 _"Of course it does! I consider you to be my best friend Claude, but looking at you right now, I can see that you are not the same person I am friends with. The real you would never put the lives of others at risk."_

 _Claude then puts the bomb away and turns back to Aldren. "Is that really your final decision?"_

 _"Yes Claude. I am sorry, but it is."_

 _"Then go. Next time we meet, don't ever bother to consider us as friends. I will kill you if you get in my way."_

 _Aldren then turns back and walks away from his former friend. "If you still have some form of sense left, the you should know what will happen if you involve others in your plans."_

 _As Aldren continues to walk away, he can hear Claude saying one work directed towards him. "Traitor..."_

 _Aldren then left without saying a work back to him._

* * *

Everyone was clearly affected after hearing about what happened between Aldren and Claude and what led to them becoming rivals or even enemies. Many of them show faces of sorrow, sympathy, and guilt, especially after finding out that Claude was another victim of their war.

"Did your falling out with Claude led to the attack earlier?" Vert asked.

"I believe so. Claude prefers a more aggressive and straightforward approach and is apparently more ruthless. I cannot approve of his methods as I do not want to have innocent blood spilled on my hands. I hated you girls all the way to today, mainly because how long it took you to finally acknowledge your involvement of our tragedies. This hurts just as much as when you left me behind to dig the graves of others. While I also wanted to ruin you, I waited so that I could isolate you four so that you would be easy targets and away from others, but we all know how that turned out. Basically, the main difference between me and him is that he wants you girls dead, but what I really want is the truth and ruining you girls or having you killed would just be a huge bonus for me."

"Is this what you want now? Even after Neptune turned herself out of guilt and has already acknowledged what happened?" Blanc asked.

Aldren then turns to Neptune, who is still hanging her head down out of shame. "I don't know anymore, but for sure I don't want to be like Claude. Those people don't deserve to be victims of our hatred."

"Then until we can redeem ourselves, I promise for the sake of Gamindustri, we will help you stop Claude!" Noire announced, causing Neptune's spirit to rise a little.

Vert nodded. "Agreed. Us CPUs were meant to help others. We will do everything we can for our nations and to you as well, hopefully."

"Fine. I cannot bring myself to forgive you all at the moment, but until we stop Claude, I will continue to assist."

"ONEE-CHAN!" Suddenly a loud voice was heard.

"Could it be?" Neptune turns around and see Nepgear running towards her with tears in her eyes.

"Gearsy! Everybody!" Another voice was heard behind Nepgear and the CPUs.

"Nepgear! Uzume!" Neptune called out.

"ONEE-CHAN!" Nepgear immediately gives her a tearful hug, almost causing Neptune to fall.

"Woah! Slow down Nepgear!"

"For everyone to be here, it seems like there is more going on than I thought." Uzume said as she looked around.

"Sorry Onee-chan, but I found evidence! It might prove your innocence!"

"HUH!?" Everyone, including Aldren shouted.

The whole room then became silent, which was broken all of a sudden when they see an angry mob chasing a fish with a human face.

"Uzume, they have found me! Ouch! Why are you all bringing out swords!?" Umio yelled.

"GET THAT MONSTER FISH!" The mob yelled.

"Uh oh, better go help Umio again." Uzume then heads towards the angry mob while everyone remains speechless.

* * *

 **Another chapter done after a long while. Sorry for the delay, but real-life keeps me busy. I decided that I am going to put this story as well Shock to Comfort on hold to continue Is it Wrong to Pick Up Asuna in a Dungeon? fanfic although it maybe a while before I post another chapter. I need some time to handle real life so I am appreciative of all of your patience. I will not end both stories like that, but I am not sure when I will be able to continue so thank you all for sticking by me. Next chapter will reveal a little more background on the tragedy that killed Aldren's family.**


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